Community
Blue Mountain Eagle
A3
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
W HAT ’ S H APPENING
F OR THE BIRDS
The deadline for What’s Happening items is 5 p.m. Friday.
Call Cheryl at the Eagle, 541-575-0710.
Counters tally feathered
friends in Grant County
THURSDAY, JAN. 8
After-lunch bingo
• 1 p.m., John Day Senior Center
Daytime bingo is starting up, to be held after the regular se-
nior lunch on Thursdays. The cost is $4 per card, and there will
be a variety of games, including blackout. To kick things off for
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eral local merchants. All are invited to come early for the lunch
at noon. The cost for lunch is $5 a person, and $4 for those 60
and older.
SATURDAY, JAN. 10
Second Saturday Gathering
• 9:30-11:30 a.m., Outpost Restaurant, John Day
All ladies are welcome to the gathering where the discussion
will be on the theme, “Fresh Starts, New Beginning – Letting
go of the Past to Embrace the Future.” Music will be presented
by Kathy Rogers and Lis Davis. Complimentary coffee and tea
will be offered at the no-host breakfast.
Family dance
• 1-4 p.m., John Day Senior Center
All ages are welcome to dance and listen to the music of
Up River Country Band. The cost is $5 for couples, and $3 for
singles. Coffee, punch and cookies will be available. No alcohol
will be allowed.
Clay pigeon shoot
• 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Kimberly Rock Products
The event will include a variety of shoots, jackpots, Annie
Oakley, men’s, women’s and kids’ competitions, and more. The
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nity House of Long Creek. There will be a pot roast dinner and
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four shoots – Jan. 10, Feb. 7, March 14 and April 11 – to win a
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of the shoots to qualify. The best score out of 100 shots wins.
The cost for that competition is $25 for 25 shots, with those pro-
ceeds not part of the Allovars fundraiser. The rock pit is located
at the 9-mile marker on Highway 402 between Kimberly and
Monument. Call 541-934-2143.
SUNDAY, JAN. 11
Farm Bureau annual meeting
• 1 p.m., Outpost Restaurant, John Day
The agenda includes awards and recognitions, election of
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challenges and issues; Trent Luschen from Baker-Grant FSA
will talk about various programs including new ones; and Na-
tional Resources Conservation Services will offer program up-
dates. A tentative presentation from Monument-Grant Soil and
Water Conservation District is also planned. A question-and-an-
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MONDAY-TUESDAY, JAN. 12-13
Red Cross blood drive
• 1-6 p.m. Monday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday, Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, John Day
The church is at 944 E. Main St. Call 1-800-RED-CROSS to
make an appointment, or visit redcrossblood.org.
SATURDAY, JAN. 17
Legion Auxiliary will meet
• 12 noon, Valley View Assisted Living, John Day
The American Legion Auxiliary’s Ellis Tracy Unit No. 77
will start the new year with a meeting at the local retirement
complex.
Fire, weeds,
herds on agenda
SWCD offers
presentations for
annual meeting
Blue Mountain Eagle
MONUMENT – The
Monument Soil and Water
Conservation District is of-
fering a trio of presentations
at its annual meeting, set for
10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday,
Jan. 22.
The event will be at the
Monument
Community
Center, and the Monument
FFA will serve a barbecue
brisket lunch for $8 a plate
at noon.
The program includes:
• 10:15 a.m. – Timber
stand health and fire re-
silience, about managing
timber to maintain a health
stand that’s resistant to fire,
TREAT
YOUR
FEET
presented by forest consul-
tant Irene Jerome and Rob
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ment of Forestry unit for-
ester.
• 1 p.m. – Controlling
medusahead,
cheatgrass
and jointed goatgrass with
bacteria, presented by Ann
Kennedy of the Agricultur-
al Research Station in Pull-
man, Wash.
• 2 p.m. – Making finan-
cially-based herd manage-
ment decisions, present-
ed by Shanna Northway,
Grant County Extension
agent.
The district’s annual
meeting and election of of-
ficers will follow at 3:15
p.m.
Those planning to attend
should RSVP by Jan. 16 to
Monument SWCD at 541-
934-2141 or mswcd@cen-
turytel.net.
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY – Observers
didn’t spot any new species
this year, but there were some
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Christmas Bird Count, re-
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ters.
The Dec. 20 count pro-
duced its highest wood duck
count, in part due to a report
from Betty and Dean Elliott.
Also bountiful were hood-
ed mergansers, almost triple
their previous high, and mer-
lins, double the past record.
Eurasian collared-doves
also had all-time high num-
bers, although that was not
applauded by participants.
These adaptable non-na-
tives are considered invasive
across the United States.
Meanwhile, wild turkeys
were just 22 birds short of
their all-time high.
Two species tallied for
2014, the western grebe and
Say’s phoebe, had been seen
just once before in a local
count.
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where golden eagles were not
recorded, a notable omission
that volunteers blamed on
weather.
All told, the counters spot-
ted 64 species and 4,718 indi-
vidual birds – both numbers
about average. Three more
species were seen during the
count week but not on the
count day.
Field participants includ-
ed Chris Bare, Mike Bohan-
non, Hugo Cobos, Angelique
Curtis, Randy Hennan, Karen
Jacobs, Barbara Meyer, Peter
Meyer, Clarence O’Leary,
Marilyn O’Leary, Shaun Ol-
son, Anakhoreo Reeves, Jill
Reeves, Johanna Ruff, Jim
Soupir, Clarence Story, and
Tom Winters.
Reports also came in from
Betty and Dean Elliott, Anne
Frost, and Cecil Gagnon.
Winters said the counters
were fortunate to have com-
munity partners – Crown
Ranch, Enright Ranch, Holl-
iday Ranch, and Grant West-
ern Lumber Co. – allowing
them to check their outbuild-
ings and properties for birds.
They also noted several oth-
er landowners allowed the
teams to observe birds on
their properties.
A separate count took
place Dec. 19 in the Antone
observation circle, where
temperatures were milder –
ranging from 43 degrees at
dawn to 51 degrees in the
afternoon. The weather was
generally good for birding,
Contributed photos
A canyon wren is spotted in a thicket during the 2014 Christmas Bird Count.
The Counts
2014 John Day Results
Canada goose (233), tun-
dra swan (4), wood duck (55),
American wigeon (4), mallard
(71), northern shoveler (3),
green-winged teal (5), ring-
necked duck (3), lesser scaup
(3), hooded merganser (22),
common merganser (1), Cali-
fornia quail (309), wild turkey
(282), Western grebe (1), great
blue heron (6), bald eagle (16),
northern harrier (5), sharp-
shinned hawk (2), Cooper’s
hawk (3), red-tailed hawk (26),
rough-legged hawk (2), Amer-
ican kestrel (6), merlin (6),
American coot (13), killdeer
(6), rock pigeon (2), Eurasian
collared-dove (223), mourning
dove (21), great horned owl (1),
belted kingfisher (9), downy
woodpecker (5), hairy wood-
pecker (4), northern flicker (31),
Say’s Phoebe (1), northern shrike
(1), Steller’s jay (12), western
scrub jay (11), Clark’s nutcrack-
er (2), black-billed magpie (85),
common raven (127), black-
capped chickadee (54), moun-
tain chickadee (9), red-breasted
nuthatch (4), brown creeper (1),
marsh wren (1), American dip-
per (8), golden-crowned king-
let (1), ruby-crowned kinglet
(5), Townsend’s solitaire (56),
American robin (1170), varied
thrush (1), European starling
(1011), cedar waxwing (30),
spotted towhee (5), song spar-
row (14), white-crowned spar-
row (5), slate-colored (2) and
Oregon (266) juncos, purple
finch (20), house finch (81), pine
siskin (12), lesser goldfinch (4),
American goldfinch (96), eve-
ning grosbeak (124), and house
sparrow (116).
Other species were seen during
count week: yellow-shafted
flicker (a rarity in these parts),
mountain bluebird, and Cassin’s
finch.
2014 Antone Circle Results
Canada goose (142), cack-
ling goose (1), tundra swan (5),
American wigeon (2), mallard
(85), green-winged teal (2), ring-
necked duck (1), common mer-
ganserÂ(2), chukar (10), wild
turkey (132), mountain quail (1),
California quail (56), great blue
heron (5), bald eagle (5), north-
ern harrier (2), sharp-shinned
hawk (2), Cooper’s hawk (2),
red-tailed hawk (16), golden
eagle (9), American kestrel (5),
Wilson’s snipe (4), rock pigeon
(57), Eurasian collared-dove
(12), great horned owl (1), belt-
ed kingfisher (2), hairy wood-
pecker (1), northern flicker (14),
northern shrike (3), Steller’s jay
(2), black-billed magpie (105),
common raven (32), moun-
tain chickadee (3), bushtit (7),
brown creeper (1), rock wren
(3), canyon wren (22), Amer-
ican dipper (1), ruby-crowned
kinglet (8), mountain bluebird
(60), Townsend’s solitaire (89),
hermit thrush (1), American
robin (881), European starling
(100), spotted towhee (5), song
sparrow (32), white-crowned
sparrow (22), dark-eyed junco
(251 and 1 slate-colored), house
sparrow (2).
– Source: Tom Winters and
Joel Geier
Debbie Ausmus
245 South Canyon Blvd.
John Day, OR 97845
OPEN WED. & THUR.
9 am - 5 pm
541-575-1113
24 hrs/7 days wk
debbie.ausmus@
countryfinancial.com
Camouflaged in the
brush, a hermit thrush
appears ready to fly
from its perch.
despite a brief shower before
noon.
The Antone volunteers
counted 49 species.
Participants
included
Charlie Berry, Diane Burgess,
Joel Geier, Wil Geier, Shirley
Hoh, Judy Meredith, Ginger
Sanders, Clarence Story, Dar-
win Wile, and Tom Winters.
A Belated
Merry Christmas
A late Christmas present for
the community:
Go to Monica’s John Day
Video Store by Squeeze-In
and pick up the DVD
“The Investigator” and she
will rent it to you for free.
From the COWBOY CHAPEL
Thank You
1
The family of Clarence “Buster” Shearer
wishes to express a very heartfelt
“Thank You” for the kindness and thoughtfulness
shown during our recent loss. Thank you for the
prayers, cards, food and love offerings, we
deeply appreciate everything. May God bless
each and everyone of you.
Sincerely,
The family of Clarence “Buster” Shearer
1
Our Services by a registered nurse include:
• Pedi-Spa treatment for your feet
• Particular attention to Diabetic Foot
• Multifunctional massage chair
• Skin Inspection • Callus Removal • Nail Cutting
We also check your blood pressure, blood sugar level and oxygen saturation.
Call
541- 575-1648
for an appointment
$35 00 fee
Blue Mountain Hospital
FOOT CLINIC
www.bluemountainhospital.org
Services available at the
Home Health Office,
422 W. Main, John Day.
47