Around home–I have begun counting molted feathers. So far: crow 3; scrub-jay 1; turkey 1. I know at Fairview marsh there would countless goose and mallard feathers. Notice that the male mallards have lost all that breeding season finery?
The young crows are very loud, annoying to the parents (even though they are locquacious themselves). Heard a towhee snarling–in our crabapple an adult with one dusky, drably feathered fledgling. Starling families were all over our feeders last month. Gone now–I note here in the Willamette most starlings know this is the time to be afield–mowing, ripening grass seed, burgeoning grasshopper populations, even row crops and fruit (think blueberries). They have left town–temporarily. Imagine the food in a freshly baled hay field: exposed caterpillars and grasshoppers, bits of minced vole and snake, bare ground for worming, little furrows of seeds knocked from the stalks, maybe even some exposed sparrow eggs. Yummy stuff, says starling. See ya back in town when the menu changes.
I will be teaching a birding class in McMinnville this month–three night and three field trips. Click here, then look on page 13 of the program guide.
The following brief note from friend, Eric May, who has to shuttle back and forth between Southern France and Switzerland…maintain maximum climatic comfort season to season: “Attached please find my wildlife photo of the week. This is a Ukrainian refugee living with his family in our building in Beaulieu [France].”
No river has endless water. The drought-diminished Colorado River watershed (click here) is now the focus of concern, legal issues, etc. So will the U.S. Supreme Court decide that Colorado, say, and Arizona should fight it out? The Constitution has no mention of rivers or water rights, so…can Coingress even be allowed to intervene?
Click here for Lake Mead, now a source of watrer-logged bodies, not water.
Deflation in New York–this is not about the economy. Click here.
Dogs from wolves–click here for latest theory on this evolution.
Wild animals understand our cities. Click here. Bears and ravens know trash day (likely they can smell it). In Ashland I saw deer using the cross walks! We’;ve all seen the storeies of the temple monkleys who steal cell phones and hold them form ransom. Aren’t we primates just a bucket of…?
Towheeblog 
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