First it is a treat to see some body looks our gnarled, scarred old cherry trees besides me. As the fruit grows, a pair of chickadees is growing a brood inside a rotted old wou nd in the tree trunk:
Jaysd have now stopped being daily visitors, repeatedly. They are nesting, no doubt. Hiow such an obvious and loud bird can suddenly “vanish” and become secretive is credit to their smarts. By the time the young fledge, they’ll once again be at us all day long. “Where’re the peanuts?” The “gone” jay feeling happens annually around this time.
Long song? The Black-headed Grosbeak. His length must rank alongside some Europeans like the Nightingale and Skylark…and even the native Americans in the mocker/thrasher family. One sang to me the whole time I was watching and photographing the chickadee nest activity.
We get a qaurtet fo ficnhes daily. Nit the dozens of siskins ot goldfinches as we before breeding began. Modest numbers now, but at least one siskin, a pair of each goldfinch species and a few House Finches. Today was a true spring day, complete with sunshine. The robin seemed pleased.
Vanessa Loverti is a biologist with USA Fish & Wildlife. She’s wormking with me on the Motus project aimed for Ankeny NWR. Back from some field work she sent me these pictures of a migratory Red Knot being banded:
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