From Past Presidents: Where Have All My Birds Gone?
Posted on Sunday, March 1st, 2020
“Where Have All MY Birds Gone?”
That is the question I hear dozens of times a year while answering the Audubon Phone. Lane County Audubon Society (LCAS) has a phone number people call, seeking answers to all sorts of nature-related questions. We receive calls about injured wildlife, impending nearby “development” that will destroy wildlife habitat, neighborhood cats, feeding birds, bird identification, swifts at Agate Hall, building a bird house, buying bird seed, buying binoculars, and more. But for the past several years some of the most common and desperate calls have been concerning the reduction or even total lack of birds in their yards.
We just learned of the passing of Allen Prigge on December 30th. He was 97 years old. A longtime Eugene-area birder, he had been a member and supporter of Lane County Audubon since the beginning. Starting in 1973, Al managed and maintained more than 300 bluebird boxes in and around Eugene. Many local Western Bluebirds are descendants of birds that nested successfully in Al’s boxes. 
I want to express my gratitude for many levels of support Lane County Audubon Society (LCAS) receives from our members and volunteers. 
Lane County enjoyed wondrous weather this summer. We had blue skies, moderate temperatures, and small amounts of rain at intervals, keeping the deciduous plants lush and green through August. Now that fall has arrived, we will see the progression of fall colors in the leaves. Fall colors in Oregon are not as famous as those of the northeast, but the stately backdrop of evergreen trees creates a contrast for the yellows and oranges of our deciduous canopy of ash, alder, oak, willow, and big-leaf maple. The understory of vine maple and poison oak adds splashes of reds.
September is the month for Vaux’s Swift migration! These small birds will be gathering in large flocks to roost for the night at the Agate Hall chimney on the UO campus, along with other locations. We will have our “Bon Voyage to the Swifts” gathering on Friday, September 13th, this year. Please come out to join us in watching and marveling at these interesting little birds. Their migration dates begin with sightings as early as late August and continue on into October. You can look for them any evening throughout this time span. 
Migration depends on the wind and the weather, food availability for the insect-eating swifts, and whether drought or fires are occurring. We never can predict exactly when they will arrive or when they will all move on to the south.
I have a couple of goals for mid-to-late summer this year. One is to get up to the higher mountain elevations to see the montane wildflowers on display July through August. It has been a few years since I made this trek, and I realize it is something I don’t want to miss yet again. I have memories of hiking the trail at Iron Mountain when hillside rock gardens were ablaze with Indian paintbrush interspersed with bright yellow stonecrop. And in the high meadows, enjoying a lush array of blooming flowers that changes weekly as the progression of flax, penstemon, yarrow, saxifrage, lupine, larkspur, beargrass, and others creates a stunning palette of colors. Trails at Mount Hood, Jefferson Park, and the Three Sisters areas can be bountiful with flowers, but also mosquitos.
Bird migration is one of the true marvels of the natural world. Some 350 species of North American breeding birds make the arduous journey north to take advantage of burgeoning insect populations, budding plants, and an abundance of nesting locations. Often they follow the same route to their summer homes, year after year. Northern summers offer longer daylight hours and more insect food to help them nest, feed, and fledge their young in a short span of time–six to eight weeks! It is a very efficient process, even though they had to make the long trip north.
A recent article published in The Atlantic prompted a good discussion among LCAS Board members. The article, “A Journey Into the Animal Mind,” can be seen at: 
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The Lane Audubon phone receives many calls from residents who ask that question. We also receive similar questions from our website contact page asking about usual backyard birds that are missing from their feeders.