Towheeblog

“Sunny Day 
Sweepin’ the clouds away 
On my way to where the air is sweet 
Can you tell me how to get…”

Dog and I were off to No Name Pond this morning.  It was a red-tail kind of day under clear blue skies.  First, we saw an adult fred-tail, with plumage so fresh the thin white band at the tip of its the tail was clearly visible.  Those white feathers quickly abraid and won’t be seen by the time nesting season is over this spring.  Then we saw a mated pair circling together near Rotary Park.  And we watched a first-year bird take off from the grass at Merlot  Marsh.

On No Name Pond were dozens of ducks.  As we neared the kingfisher came out of his hidden perch, rattling an alarm call.  That set off the skitterish Wood Duck couple who whistled and they lifted off and disappeared beyond the trees along Baker Creek.  The other ducks simply drifted to the far side of the pond, except for the teal who snoozed on the shoreline:

On the pond shore we were also serenaded by two flickers, perhaps competing for territory. We heard all three of the species’ most common sounds.  First the sharp “clear” call.  Once there came the hiccup-like “wheea-wheea.”  Numerous repeats of the strong spring “ka-ka-ka-ka-ka.”  Each repeat was a dozen or more staccato notes of rising and falling pitch.  Neither of the flickers would pose for photos, but a nearby Acorn Woodpecker did.  So, too, a male hummer:

The Myrtle Warbler above was on our suet feeder.  The White-throated Sparrow below was also

No Name Pond, McMinnville, OR, Yamhill, Oregon, US
Mar 1, 2019. 19 species

Wood Duck  2
Northern Shoveler  16
American Wigeon  9
Mallard  25
Northern Pintail  1
Green-winged Teal  4
Ring-necked Duck  11
Bufflehead  3
Anna’s Hummingbird  1
Red-tailed Hawk  2
Belted Kingfisher  1
Northern Flicker  2
American Crow  X
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
American Robin  4
House Finch  5
Dark-eyed Junco  2
Song Sparrow  1
Red-winged Blackbird  X

Merlot Marsh–private land, Yamhill, Oregon, US
Mar 1, 2019. 8 species

Canada Goose  2
Mallard  X
Anna’s Hummingbird  1
Red-tailed Hawk  3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  1
American Robin  5
European Starling  X
Song Sparrow  3