Towheeblog

If the firsts are fine, who needs seconds?
I got several 2023 first today, all fine, and all were at Minto-Brown Park. First active Black-capped Chickadee nest. First active Bushtit nest dangling from a branch. First Dusky Flycatcher. First music from a Black-headed Grosbeak. First butterfly (but just a cabbage white). First two sunning turtles.

Not new but still good: lots of orange-crowns, some yellowthroats, a pair of Wood Ducks. Song and White-crowned Sparrows were singing.

The American gray squirrel (they say “grey'”) has conquered Britain…and now the pillaging matches their reputation for cuteness. Click here for expose by The Guardian, columnist Zoe Williams.

Minto-Brown Island Park, Marion, Oregon, US
Apr 26, 2023
26 species

Canada Goose  8
Wood Duck  2
Mallard  6
California Quail  1
Anna’s Hummingbird  1
Turkey Vulture  4
Osprey  2     active nest
Northern Flicker  3
Dusky Flycatcher  1
Steller’s Jay  1
California Scrub-Jay  4
American Crow  3
Black-capped Chickadee  2     at nest hole
Tree Swallow  3
Barn Swallow  2
Bushtit  2     at hanging nest
European Starling  X
American Robin  3
White-crowned Sparrow  5
Song Sparrow  8
Spotted Towhee  2
Red-winged Blackbird  9
Orange-crowned Warbler  12
Common Yellowthroat  3
Yellow-rumped Warbler  5
Black-headed Grosbeak  X