QUINTS DOING CUTE
This photo was shared by my friend Albert Ryckman. The little ones line up:
June 9, Yamhill County
At least three times this month I have seen Band-tailed Pigeons flying over northwest McMinnville. Each time they are at least fifty yards up and moving either east or west in small flocks. Today it was a dozen going east. They are apparently moving between the coastal foothills forest and the riparian corridor along the Willamette. Certainly we saw several on Grand Island on Sunday. One recent spring a pair nested in the forest next to Baker Creek north of the McMinnville Mormon church in the northwest corner of the town.
An Anna’s Hummingbird was enjoying our blossoming penstemon yesterday.
We apparently have a siskin family in our garden now. Two seem to be juveniles while one adult has the bold yellow wing wash that you would expect in a breeding season male. Frequent finches feeding–here House, American Gold, siskin:
The American Goldfinch pair come into the garden together several times daily. They must not have eggs yet, perhaps waiting for some warmth and more ripened seeds.
Yesterday I saw two Willow Flycatchers at Wennerberg Park, Carlton. They were not close together so it was not clear if they were a pair. I saw a waxwing carrying food to a nest that I could not locate in an ash with dense foliage.
Here, Barn Swallows playing centerfield on an otherwise empty ball field at Wennerberg:
Any of us who have parented, or grand-parented, especially in the Age of Covid, can empathize with the trials of mothers. Imagine having having over a dozen newborns. That can happen in Duckdom where fatherhood is not even a concept. The male ducks spend their tie feeding, preening, molting, preparing for the next year’s courtship. Female ducks are single moms. Here are some videos that offer a prelude to a floating family and its challenges. Click on each to view video.
Wennerberg Park, Carlton, OR, Yamhill, Oregon, US
Jun 8, 2020. 11 species
Northern Flicker 2
Willow Flycatcher 2
California Scrub-Jay 1
Barn Swallow X
European Starling X
American Robin X
Cedar Waxwing 1
House Sparrow X
American Goldfinch 3
Chipping Sparrow 3
Black-headed Grosbeak X
Towheeblog 
Leave a Reply