My goodness! I guess I have been remiss. Hadn't realized it had been a month since I last posted anything. Admittedly, I was away for 10 days or so, but still....
Where to begin?
I guess the best place to begin is how green everything is. The spring has continued to be cooler and wetter than normal with everything just a bit further behind than normal, although as you can see, the native trees have, and continue to flower beautifully.
water levels are up although not as high as would be considered normal for this time of the year since snow packs have barely started to melt. This photo, taken last week, shows fresh snow on the tops of the local mountains, something that has been a common occurrence up until this past weekend.
Despite it all....
summer visitors are arriving, like the Bullock's Orioles....
Western Wood Pee Wee
Savannah Sparrow
Yellow Warbler.....etc. etc.
and babies are starting to show up too, like this Canada Goose family
whether intentional or not, it has been nice to see that the sides of the dykes haven't been mowed so the dandelions have been able to go to seed and as a result Pine Siskin (like this guy) and Goldfinch have been feasting on them constantly.
a number of Red-breasted Sapsuckers were regularly seen a couple of weeks ago, guess they are nesting now and harder to find.
Speaking of nests....there was activity at one of the eagle nests yesterday although couldn't see any young yet. The other nest has been eerily quiet. Not quiet are the Osprey, there seem to be more than usual right now.
We are still waiting for the Purple Martins to show up. Cedar Waxwing are just starting to appear but haven't settled enough for a photo yet and we keep watching for a Lazuli Bunting to arrive. Some are in the valley, but not here yet.....of course I'm about to disappear for another couple of weeks so things will have probably really changed by the time I get back.
