Towheeblog

Long before stealth bombers and unmanned drones, there were accipiters. This stealth hunter lurched out of our garden yestwerday as the dog and I retutrned home from a walk. The bird then huddled behind foliage for a bit to let me try for a photo. Look for the golden eye staring back. Needless to say, the Juncos were very happy to see me and almost immediately began feeding again in the garden. We don’t often actually see the Sharpies, but we do occasionally note the utter lack of motion and small birds indicating the jays and juncos have seen the hunter about.
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Jackrabbit tracks in the very light snow of Thursday morning.
A Song Sparrow staring at the strange intruder, that would be me and dog.

Earlier this week there wasa calling Hutton’s Vireo in Lithia Park near gthe tennis courts. This is the third straight winter one has shown up in February. We never see or hear them here in the summer. One Ashland birder who liv es uphill from the Safeway tells me she gets 8 Evening Grosbeaks on her garden feeders every day.