Birds All Aflutter - UPDATE March 30, 2024
Birds-a-plenty
I have never seen so many birds here ever. The redpoll flock doubled again to more birds than I can count—guessing over 300. Too many to feed all in one feeding area, so all I could get in a picture was about 200 on this feeding spot with many waiting in trees and feeding in other areas. I don’t know if it’s the recent snow that made them come in such number. The flock of crows also grew too large to count easily but it is over 60.
Oregon Junco
Oregon Junco
Hoary Redpoll
Hoary Redpoll
Mixed in are birds we seldom or never see here. One is the Oregon Junco that I have no record of seeing. They are the same species as the Slate-colored Junco that are common here. They are just different populations of the widespread Dark-eyed Junco. The Oregon Junco generally lives in the far west mostly in Oregon and Washington and winters in the southwestern states, while the Slate-colored Junco lives coast-to-coast across the boreal forest of Canada and winters across the United States.
The other unusual bird here now is the Hoary Redpoll—named for its grayish white color. They come down in small numbers with the darker, browner Common Redpolls when the redpolls are here in large numbers like this year, but they come from farther north.
Redpoll waving
Redpoll waving
Redpoll male
Redpoll male
Sometimes birds do things that seem friendly if you stretch your imagination, like the Common Redpoll (female or juvenile) that is waving at me or the Common Redpoll male that just seems to have a friendly look in his eye. I can only dream.
Pileated woodpecker female
Pileated woodpecker female
Pileated woodpecker looking
Looking for food
The female Pileated Woodpecker paid a visit and landed where there is often suet, but we removed the suet and the screws that hold it so the Bald Eagle wouldn’t trip as it swoops by for a grab. So the woodpecker flew to a tree where there are many little holes where woodpeckers have looked for or stored food. The female is used to seeing people here, so she didn’t worry when she was looking into one of the larger holes and I pried by having the camera look into the hole, too, but there was no food stored in it, so the woodpecker headed elsewhere to look.
Thank you for all you do,
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center