Our calendar, based on arithmetic not nature, says Monday is the first day of spring. Hah, spring is all around us. There was song and sound in the air: red-wings, American Goldfinch, flicker, chorus frog, Varied Thrush, yellow-rump. The Canada Geese pairs at Fairview Wetlands were angrily contesting possession of the nest platforms. Much honking and flapping about. Song Sparrows contesting thicket control. A flock of swallows at Fairview–cousins: tree and violet-green. English daisies blooming. Buds on most deciduous plants. I’ve been working on rocks for garden borders, as I removed from the pile I uncover mobile sowbugs, slugs, false black widow spiders. Good and not: saw my first housefly and ladybug today. Yesterday several beetles were clinging to our window screens. Plant nurseries are filling up with young plants.
Don’t tell Nestle, but not all Junc-food is bad for you:
While we down Pun Alley, I gotta say our squirrels’ fifth appendage is superbly tail-or made:
That appendage has more shapes than Twitter has lies. I especially enjoy the S-curve, as in S-quirrel.
Teal at Fairview–they are rarely calm enough for a good shot (widely hunted):
Right below the box in the water stands the only snipe I could locate at Riverfront Park yesterday. Eagle nest attended and sentinel on duty nearby:
Hey, fellow Willametters, did you know we are living in one of the world’s great places? That’s according to Time, click here.
Fairview Wetlands, Marion, Oregon, US
Mar 18, 2023
26 species
Cackling Goose 30 fly over
Canada Goose 8 territorial disputes going on
Northern Shoveler 30
Mallard 15
Northern Pintail 12
Green-winged Teal 8
Bufflehead 4
Anna’s Hummingbird 2
American Coot 30
Killdeer 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Northern Flicker 1
California Scrub-Jay 3
American Crow 4
Tree Swallow 6
Violet-green Swallow 10 first6 swallows of year at this location
European Starling X
American Robin 7
House Finch 4
Dark-eyed Junco 2
White-crowned Sparrow 2
Golden-crowned Sparrow 6
Song Sparrow 7
Spotted Towhee 4
Red-winged Blackbird 10
Yellow-rumped Warbler 6
Towheeblog 
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