| Previous :: Next Topic |
| Author |
Message |
Kascadia
Member
Joined: 03 Feb 2014
Posts: 520 | TRs
|
The black headed grosbeaks returned to our feeders last week. Beautiful birds and their songs are outrageous - masters of improv.
--------------
It is as though I had read a divine text, written into the world itself, not with letters but rather with essential objects, saying:
Man, stretch thy reason hither, so thou mayest comprehend these things. Johannes Kepler |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
olderthanIusedtobe
Member
Joined: 05 Sep 2011
Posts: 7041 | TRs
Location: Shoreline
|
| Kascadia wrote: |
| The black headed grosbeaks returned to our feeders last week. Beautiful birds and their songs are outrageous - masters of improv. |
 My parents have them in SW Washington, a bit east of Portland. I don't recall ever seeing them in Pugetopolis. Cool birds. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
olderthanIusedtobe
Member
Joined: 05 Sep 2011
Posts: 7041 | TRs
Location: Shoreline
|
| Stood and watched a flicker excavating a hole near the top of a power line pole. Every 5 or so seconds the head would reappear and toss out a mouthful of sawdust type stuff. Whole body was in the hole already. I'm assuming nesting site. A couple blocks from my house, I'll have to take a gander up there every time I walk by. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
olderthanIusedtobe
Member
Joined: 05 Sep 2011
Posts: 7041 | TRs
Location: Shoreline
|
| Saw one momma mallard with 10 little puffballs today at Boeing Creek Park. Surprised I haven't been seeing more babies. They should be out by now. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
ale_capone
Member
Joined: 22 Sep 2009
Posts: 620 | TRs
|
Breakfast served!
Just saw the raven come and pick up its daily free meal. A huge dead mouse I left it.
We have a rodent problem around our poultry pens. I use a variety of traps, but obviously no poison. I wont get into the specifics, but I feel bad taking any life, so I try to be humane. A week ago I forgot the carcasses on top of a barrel. The next day, they where gone. I kept doing it, and they kept disappearing. It's on top of a 55gallon drum, so I knew it wasn't a rodent getting them.
Thought it was the crows, but I was wrong. Kinda neat. A bird feeder for ravens. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
ale_capone
Member
Joined: 22 Sep 2009
Posts: 620 | TRs
|
| olderthanIusedtobe wrote: |
| Saw one momma mallard with 10 little puffballs today at Boeing Creek Park. Surprised I haven't been seeing more babies. They should be out by now. |
That's one of favorite scenes in the bird world. Most birds hide their young in the nest while they are cute. Ducks parade theirs around. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
cdestroyer
Member
Joined: 14 Sep 2015
Posts: 681 | TRs
Location: montana
|
| western tanagers have arrived. bright red head and brilliant yellow body |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
cdestroyer
Member
Joined: 14 Sep 2015
Posts: 681 | TRs
Location: montana
|
| got some kind of yellowish/brown medium size bird...either a longspur or meadolark juvenile maybe..they dont sit long enough to get a good look.. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
olderthanIusedtobe
Member
Joined: 05 Sep 2011
Posts: 7041 | TRs
Location: Shoreline
|
| I picked a few salmonberries and tossed them to the mallard floofballs. They went after them like a pack of ravenous wolves. Lack of fear of humans and boldness seems to be inherent and not learned, they came very close to me. Momma wasn't worried, she got in on the action too. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Hesman
Member
Joined: 24 Oct 2005
Posts: 888 | TRs
|
Didn’t see it in my yard, but a few days ago drove to the Shelton area to see a Lazuli Bunting.
--------------
You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time. - Abraham Lincoln
Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened. - Dr. Seuss |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Jake Neiffer
Member
Joined: 07 Dec 2011
Posts: 824 | TRs
Location: Lexington, OR
|
| Saw a bullocks oriole in the front yard yesterday |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
lookout bob
WTA proponent.....
Joined: 12 Apr 2005
Posts: 2907 | TRs
Location: wta work while in between lookouts
|
We went down to the boat launch at Sand Point Magnuson Park and observed a bunch of ducklings with their mama. The little ones were half leaping out of the water to get bugs circling in the air above them. We were entranced! 
--------------
"Altitude is its own reward"
John Jerome ( from "On Mountains") |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
olderthanIusedtobe
Member
Joined: 05 Sep 2011
Posts: 7041 | TRs
Location: Shoreline
|
| lookout bob wrote: |
| We went down to the boat launch at Sand Point Magnuson Park and observed a bunch of ducklings with their mama. The little ones were half leaping out of the water to get bugs circling in the air above them. We were entranced! |
Mallard chicks amaze me. Very independent almost from the get go. They are tiny eating machines. Did you know they can completely submerge? Adult mallards often grab stuff under the surface but their butts float. The babies dive all the time. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Brucester
Member
Joined: 02 Jun 2013
Posts: 901 | TRs
Location: Greenwood
|
Last night....to my left a seemingly iridescent green hummer sitting for a moment while we sat on my friends patio. The coolest thing ever, I tell you.  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Kascadia
Member
Joined: 03 Feb 2014
Posts: 520 | TRs
|
Rufous hummingbirds have been arriving at our place like a Swiss watch for 20 years, March 15+/- one week. And they leave in the same fashion after producing 2 clutches on July 15 +/- one week. Yesterday we saw a Rufous, I assume one that thru-flew to Alaska and was on her way back to Central Mexico. Amazing little critters.
--------------
It is as though I had read a divine text, written into the world itself, not with letters but rather with essential objects, saying:
Man, stretch thy reason hither, so thou mayest comprehend these things. Johannes Kepler |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
