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Spring Migration seems to finally be here while other birds are already building nests and some other species have already fledged their young. Arden and I watched tiny little Mallards scurrying across the waters at Columbia Springs Education Center on Evergreen Hwy while doing the Birdathon. It is amazing how fast those little legs can move those little birds in water.
Also on the Birdathon we went to Lacamas Park in Camas and walked the trails. Winter Wrens were calling in every patch of the appropriate habitat. I love those little brown jobs (LBJ's) with their stiff tiny little tails sticking straight up. Their song is so wild. They are hard to photograph since they tend to sing until the camera is on them and then they take a dive to thick cover. We were just in time to see the Camas Lilies blooming in the Lily fields on top of the small hill in the park. Oak trees grow up therethat had Black-throated Gray & Orange-crowned Warblers plus a noisy little Red-breasted Nuthatch.
On Saturday, Teague's went with us and we headed up to the higher elevation on the west side of the county. We immediately ran into low clouds that delivered a thick mist of rain. It was chilly and the birds were basically not to be found. Probably smarter than us and still sleeping and waiting for better weather. After birding many areas, the rain getting heavier and the birds not showing, we headed to lower ground. I was really disappointed. I had hoped we would get some of those species like, Northern Pygmy Owl, Ruffed & Blue Grouse, Varied Thrush, etc. that nest in the mountains and hills. Not this year.
At Yacolt we went by the power poles with the nest building Monk Parakeets. The PUD recently torn down the nests fearing the birds with their huge twig colonies would disrupt the power to its customers in the area. They had hoped to catch the birds and remove them but that failed. We noticed a neighbor had a sign and petition to stop the PUD from destroying "their" parakeet nests. The birds were back building their nests again.
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