Too alarming not to share......

I hadn't really intended to do another blog entry but this morning I received an email on a subject that I feel is too alarming not to spread on as many venues as possible.....

Wendy Bales, who is the area rep in our area sent out this picture.....

this picture shows a diseased Sockeye Salmon, infected with a virus and the alarming thing is, the picture was taken in our Chehalis River!!!  The email went on to say that the only place something like this has been seen before is in rivers just below the tar sands!

Everyone is asked to keep their eyes open and if anyone sees one of these infected fish to report it, not only to Wendy Bales but also to: https://www.facebook.com/#!/alexandra.morton.1671

This is extremely alarming!  What is going on in the water shed to the Chehalis????

now another concern....I think I reported a while ago about a White-crowned Sparrow we have hanging around our place that has a deformed beak in that it's beak is always open...well now we have something else....

when we first noticed this young Spotted Towhee we thought, oh silly baby bird....it has a berry stuck on it's beak...now we realize that isn't a berry, it is a growth....I've never seen anything like this before and I'm spreading the picture around to see if anyone else has....again...what is going on????

On a good news aspect though I will report that my neighbours crop of grapes continue to attract not only the Cedar Waxwings and Robins....but

also Western Tanagers!  The female on the right was still feeding the fledgling on the left.

here is a better picture of the fledgling...

Purple Finch continue to show up in large numbers....what a scruffy looking creature!!!  Pine Siskin are also around in good numbers.

quite a few young Black-headed Grosbeaks still hanging around as well, also saw several Hummingbirds....most likely ones from further north on their way south.

So a reminder, barring receiving anymore alarming news....there will most likely be no more postings until October.