This morning with a temp just above freezing there was a tiny spider in the ash bucket which had been sitting outside overnight. Whence did he come?
Later this morning Nora and I birded the Yamhill and Carlton Sewer Ponds. Both had Common Goldeneye. Yamhill had a nice variety of ducks, unusual.
One of the three Yamhill goldeneyes is on the right near its cousin Bufflehead which are far more common here in winter. eBird sent up a confirmation requirement for my goldeneyes they are so unusual at Yamhill Sewer. Previous eBird reports of goldeneyes have both come in January. No report here yet of a Barrow’s, a species that is common in winter in Klamath Basin east of the Cascades.
Note the spiked tail feathers as this Yamhill Flicker preens.
Driving around today I saw 7 Kestrels, three along Westside Road and four along Hwy 47 north of McMinnville.
TOP TEN THINGS IN MY GARDEN
Yamhill Sewage Ponds (restricted access), Yamhill, Oregon, US
Dec 26, 2016. 18 species
Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii) 160
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 10
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata) 120
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) 1
Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris) 3
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) 27
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) 3 three females; photo posted on my blog
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 8
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 1
California Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica) 4
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) X
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 3
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) X
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) 1; Brewer’s Blackbirds c. 20
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) 2
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) 4
Carlton City Sewer Ponds (restricted access), Yamhill, Oregon, US
Dec 26, 2016. 6 species
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata) 20
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) 24
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) 1
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 6
California Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica) 1
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) X
Towheeblog 
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