HERMIT MAKES PUBLIC APPEARANCE

here along the Pacific Slope our Hermit Warbler is one of the most sought-after warblers in America. Its narrow range and relative low numbers make it a bird that visitors want to see. And science tells us that the Townsend’s Warbler is squeezing the Hermit out of some of its former range. I saw my first two Hermits today up on Tolman Creek Road, above 3400′ elevation…so I took lots of pictures. Often the bird was behind a leaf or in deep shade but about 5% of my shots are worth viewing. If you are privately pro-Hermit, enjoy this gallery:I almost never see this bird’s back, so take a look as this picture gives you a view past the bird’s starting eyes and along its nicely decorated topside.

This species is rare east of the Cascades and Sierra Nevada. Most eastern states have zero records of this species. It interbreeds with the Townsend’s which shares its genus and that may not be good for the Hermit’s future survival. It is a bird of the mountain conifer forest. The first Hermit Warbler nest was discovered in the late 1800s by Charles Allen who also discovered the Allen’s Hummingbird. Allen is the only resident of California to have a bird species named for him. Belding has a sub-species of sparrow as a namesake.
To find the Hermit Warbler’s nest Allen climbed hand over hand into a conifer in the Sierra. The nest was over 100 feet above the ground in Blue Canyon, California. Allen lived in Nicasio where he collected the first Allen’s Hummingbird specimen and sent it back to ornithologists in Boston.

BLOG BIRD FEST BOILERPLATE
HERE IN ASHLAND, OREGON, THE KLAMATH BIRD OBSERVATORY IS SPONSORING OUR FIRST-EVER MOUNTAIN BIRD FESTIVAL. IT IS MAY 30-JUNE 1. WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER, CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD, WESTERN SCREECH-OWL, SANDHILL CRANES ON NESTING GROUNDS, BOTH EAGLES, NESTING OSPREY, ACORN & LEWIS’S WOODPECKERS, MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD AND CHICKADEE, HERMIT AND MACGILLIVRAY’S WARBLER, CASSIN’S FINCH AND VIREO, BAND-TAILED PIGEON, BLACK TERN, RED-BREASTED AND WILLIAMSON’S SAPSUCKERS, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE, LAZULI BUNTING, AMERICAN DIPPER, WRENTIT, TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE–SOME OF THE BIRDS WE EXPECT TO SEE. WITH A LITTLE BIRDING MOJO WE CAN ADD GREAT GRAY OWL, SOOTY GROUSE, MOUNTAIN QUAIL, NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL, SWAINSON’S HAWK, EVENING GROSBEAK AND NORTHERN GOSHAWK.