Last night’s weather front must have brought in, or forced to land here, some migrating sparrows. There are at least three White-crowned Sparrows in our garden right now, most this year…and there were two Chipping Sparrows at dawn, but I haven’t seen them since. Moved on already? In search of oaks which we don’t have nearby? Those two were my first chippers of the month here.
On the following checklist there are six species who will NOT likely be here in mid-summer: all the sparrows wexcept maybe a juncio family, the warbler, the siskins. We should have Song Sparrow and towhee when there’s less feeder competition, and the goldfinches will likely scatter for breeding, maybe even vanish from this vicinity for awhile.
One little chippie (much smaller than the white-crowns, who are smaller than golden-crowns or behemoth fox) seemed aghast…why all these rose bushes? he wondered. His actions consisted of looking around:
At some point I expect waxwings coming by, flycatchers returning for a day or two, Bushtit families will be back at the suet feeders (they must be incubating or feeding nestlings now), maybe a Warbling Vireo or tanager or grosbeak or additional warblers or even an oriole–all passing through. So far no overhead swallows or swifts, but that will come. With ill luck there may be a cowbird couple.
954 Ratcliff Drive SE, Marion, Oregon, US
Apr 18, 2022
21 species
Mallard 2
Wild Turkey 1
Mourning Dove 4
Anna’s Hummingbird 1
Red-breasted Sapsucker 1
Steller’s Jay 1
California Scrub-Jay X
American Crow 2
Black-capped Chickadee 1
European Starling X
American Robin 2
House Finch 4
Pine Siskin 12
Lesser Goldfinch 2
American Goldfinch 18
Chipping Sparrow 2
Fox Sparrow 2
Dark-eyed Junco 1
White-crowned Sparrow 3
Golden-crowned Sparrow 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
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