n February 2008, several new nest boxes were added to the Bird Club’s Bluebird Trail at Battle Mountain and along the Albee to Ukiah road, which are located about 40 miles south of Pendleton. We now have a total of 27 bluebird nest boxes erected on trees and fence posts along the Trail.

On August 3, we checked the nest boxes for evidence of nesting, and there were bluebird nests in all but one box, so a total of 26 boxes with nests. All of the adult bluebirds we saw on August 3 were Western Bluebirds, including one adult male feeding a fledgling that was just out of the nest. Although Mountain Bluebirds are sometimes seen along the Albee Road and at Battle Mountain in spring, we had enough observations of bluebirds in and around the nest boxes when adult bluebirds, eggs and young were present earlier in the nesting season to know that no Mountain Bluebirds nested in the boxes this year. There is no definite way to tell how many young bluebirds fledged from any nest; however, of the 26 boxes that contained nests, 22 boxes showed.... Full Story

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esser Goldfinch is certainly not a common species in Umatilla County. There has, however, been quite an increase in the number of Lesser Goldfinches reported over the past 3 to 5 years. Exactly why they seem to be moving into northeastern Oregon is unknown, but there is plenty of habitat in Umatilla County: seedy, brushy fields and fencerows, as well as brushy riparian areas, which attract Lesser Goldfinches. The cold weather doesn’t bother them as they move to warmer climates in the southwestern states and Mexico for the winter. Some Lesser Goldfinches do stay in southern and coastal Oregon year-round. So, possibly, like most of the people who live here, they just like Umatilla County, and a few are moving in for the breeding season.

There are two subspecies of the Lesser Goldfinch, the black-backed and the green-backed varieties. Both subspecies have black caps, yellow throat and breast with a white wing-bar and a white patch on the wings and tail. The white patch on the wing is a good identification mark to separate Lesser from American Goldfinches...Full Story