Towheeblog

Now there is more time between sunrise and sunset than there is between sunset and sunrise. That sunlight-nighttime shift has been paralleled by birdy changes. Two months ago our garden had more goldfinches than juncos. Juncos linger, goldfinches all gone. The males starting to sing in late February was the hint–hormones rising and soon to follow: the need to find nesting territories. Just in the past three days the wintering Varied Thrush have disappeared. The local turkey flock that numbered 21 for weeks has disintegrated into singles and pairs. Somewhere the hens may be starting to nest. I no longer see a Bushtit flock of 20+. A pair once in awhile, or a handful still unmated. A pair of Red-breasted Nuthatches in our garden, honking and feeding together. Canada Geese incubating eggs, ditto the bald Eagles at Riverfront Park. Most ducks are paired now. Red-wings claiming their bit of cattail marsh. A downy pair side-by-side. Starlings checking out possible nest cavities. A robin singing from high in a walnut tree. Despite the continued chilly and wet weather, plums and magnolia and forsythia are in bloom.

Wood River Valley, north of Klamath Lake. Superb photos by Marty Karlin. Look in to the eyes of another creature:

Above: Prairie Falcon, harrier, roughie, ferruginous, red-tail, Golden-crowned KINGlet, mammal known for badgering its enemies (or edibles). Badgers are often visible at Malheur. There are some openings for the Malheur Birding trips in May and September. I will be leading them for the Malheur Field Station–contact Field Station for details, if interested. A wet winter could make this a very interesting spring and summer for birding.

BAJA
All the following from John Matthews: “Penina and I got back from our (trip) to Baja to watch whales and birds a little over 2 weeks ago… been recovering ever since! The Baja Gray Whale Expedition was sponsored and conducted by the OSU Marine Mammal Institute was officially 9 days.” 

That’s a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron above.

THE ART OF THE BIRD
Don’t be outta your gord, really get into it:

If you want to see these up close, even buy one:
Karen Hoyt’s BEAUTIFUL BIRD GOURDS will be at
Capitol Woodcarvers 2023 SHOW at the Center 50+ in Salem, Oregon.
Center 50+ is 2615 Portland Rd. NE, Salem.