Corban College

The Nature of This Place

Part I: BirdsFor comments, questions, and corrections – contact John Scott,

Assistant Professor of History.

God’s good creation

• “How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.”

• Psalm 104:24

The Nature of this Place• Corban is biologically and botanically rich.• Birds like Corban. What follows are images of over fifty species of

birds seen on, or next to, the Corban campus in birding here the last few years. This species list will grow – although as this region of Salem is developed we will lose several of these countryside species.

• Botanist, Kent Coe, helped identify approximately 50 -60 species of trees, shrubs and flowers on campus last June. The campus was broken into five zones. Two zones were finished over a parts of a Saturday and Sunday. We will work to complete this work next spring. All the plants that were identified in Zones 1 and 2 will be available with common names and Latin names by the end of September. The plan is to save images of the major tree, shrub, and flower species as a companion to the birds and mammals.

Corban Wildlife Zones• Zone 1 – Athletic fields and oak / fir woods up to Aumsville

Highway. Also gravel path and seasonal Deer Park pond. • Zone 2 – Our old growth Douglas fir / Big leaf Maple / Oak

forest up above and below Prewitt Van Gilder. • Zone 3 – The open bramble and berry fields up above the

parking lots.• Zone 4 – the Oak and Maple forest over near the police

shooting range and old campus storage buildings. • Zone 5 – The campus proper – landscaped and decorative

areas near buildings where we work.

Yellow-rumped Warbler 0r Audubon’s Warbler. Warblers can be seen in all five zones. Be patient and get good binoculars. www.nps.gov

Orange-crowned Warbler – regular in May, probably a nester. http://thebirdguide.com

Wilson’s Warbler seen in zone 1. A curious warbler. http://resources.edb.gov

Anna’s Hummingbird These hummers are also in Oregon in the winter time. Their call is a metallic clicking sound. staffwww.fullcollege.edu

Belted Kingfisher. One sighting – he checked out our all too shallow creek and quickly left. http://dsf.chesco.org

Brown Creeper starts at the bottom of a tree trunk and goes up. www.saaudubon.org

Red-breasted Nuthatch Often starts on upper trunk and goes down. Common in our Oregon Garry Oaks. http://pbase.com

White-breasted Nuthatch• He/she is headed down - typical

behavior. Both nuthatches sound like tiny tin horns when they call.

• http://birdsart.com

Song Sparrow – Fox Sparrows are also be here at Corban. http://ib.berkeley.edu

White-crowned Sparrow. Used to nest in our causeway ground cover in good numbers. http://upload.wikimedia.org

Dark-eyed Junco www.dereila.ca

Golden-crowned Kinglet usually n conifers. www.birdsource.org

Ruby-crowned Kinglet Usually in conifers. http://buildyourownbirdhouseplans.com

Western Bluebird only one sighting – oak trees – 2002 – Edge of Zone 2 next to Prewitt Van Gilder oaks. Now uncommon. http://wdw.wa.gov

Winter Wren Especially in Zone 2. Loves conifer forests. Small bird with a strong call. www.clarebiodiversity

Pileated Woodpecker – Zone 2. Student sightings in 2001. After extinction of the Ivory billed - now North America’s largest woodpecker. http://upload.wikimedia.org

Hairy Woodpecker. Likely Downy Woodpeckers as well. And common flickers. http://content.ornith.cornell.edu

Black-capped Chickadee www.birdsandblooms.com

Chestnut-backed Chickadee www.birdsamore.com

Crow www.crows.net

Western Kingbird – two Corban sightings, not regularly seen in these parts. Zone 4. Probably nested 2007 near Turner Road. www.outdooralabama.com

California Quail Seen in Zone 3 www.redbuttecanyon.net

Western Tanager These lovely birds have been seen by Jan and Mary Louise from their office windows. Regular spring visitor. http://wdfw.wa.gox

Warbling Vireo Zone 1 – one sighting. Probably common. http://thebirdguide.com

Spotted Towhee. Often shuffling leaves on the ground stirring up food. www.dereila.ca

Black-headed Grosbeak. A strong robin-like song. http://tringa.org

Varied Thrush. Called by some the Alaska Robin. Winter time visitor. Usually on, in, or under conifers. www.dereila.ca

American Robin www.coffeecreekwc.org

Great-horned Owl Zone 2. Seen from 2003-2007 roosting in big Douglas firs. www..ohio-nature.com

Screech Owl Zone 5 near Academic Center. Seen by Communications staff. www.urbanhabitats.org

Barn Swallow. Deer Park pond. Occasional. http://pie.midco.net

Mallard. Rare on Deer Park pond. http://upload.wikimedia.org

Steller’s Jay mostly zone 2 conifers. www.geocities .com

Scrub Jay. All zones. www.surfbirds.com

Violet-Green Swallow Has nested for decades on Schimmel Hall http://farm4.static.flickr.com

Cedar Waxwing All zones. Eats loads of berries and its feathers become so pigment rich there are red waxy ends to the feathers. http://farm2.static.flickr.com

House Finch www.utahbirds.org

Gold Finch Also Lesser Goldfinch sightings. Zone 3 – most common. www.birdingmaine.com

Pine Siskin Near the tops of conifers. www.rivernen.ca

Western Meadowlark two sightings near Turner Road - 2008 – once common in this region. State bird now rare near state capital. http://upload.wikimedia.org

Mourning Dove – often on Deer Park power lines. http://opload.wikimedia.org

Vaux’s Swift These birds have used Corban chimneys for decades for night roosting. Sometimes seen in the thousands. http://farm1.static.flickr.com

Bald Eagle Seen flying over campus / Roosting on prison land Douglas firs. We will lose these as the land is commercialized. www.travel-destination-pictures.com

Northern Harrier/Marsh Hawk – uncommon in the fields across from the campus. Note the white rump. http://farm1.static .flickr.com

American Kestrel – common along Deer Park Drive on telephone lines. http://sdakotabirds.com

Red-tailed Hawk www.smm.ort

Cooper’s Hawk Probably Sharp-shinned hawks as well. www,thebirdguide.com

Turkey Vulture www.earthethics.com

Osprey - only one sighting. Fly by on a 102 degree day in July 2005 – He dropped down near our sprinklers. http:/animals.nationalgeographic.com

Starling imprudently introduced to N. America in 1885. At times there are 1,000’s roosting on the trees near our upper campus. www.columbia.edu

Killdeer. Zone 1 – gravel path – 2008 http://thebirdguide.com

Western Wood Peewee http://farm2.static.flickr.com

Cackling Canada Goose. ODF&W has seen over 5,000 in our nearby fields at one time. The cackler is the small goose, www.oceanwanderers.com

Great Blue Heron. Nearby wet fields and rare on Deer Park pond. http://accad.osu.edu