Well there are two words that pretty much sum up June 2020 - wet - and windy. Even when it isn't being 'wet' it seems the wind is blowing....guess the only good thing about that is it keeps the mosquitoes at bay, because all that 'wet' has caused their numbers to soar - which is a good thing for the poor birds....but not so pleasant for us humans....
So where to begin?
I guess with water - we'd all thought the water levels had peaked as they had started going down, but no.....they came back with a vengeance. This is the Kilby parking lot and the campground, that had opened, is again shut.
That high water has caused some serious problems...
as some of the martin boxes are now completely submerged.
and as if the high water level wasn't enough, there are a lot of inconsiderate boaters and personal water craft operators whose wakes cause even more problems. Hopefully the birds can move up to the boxes off of Eagle Point and still have time to raise a family. Haven't been able to check those boxes recently due to the wind.
The weather has been hard on any flying insect feeding bird....
we did see a pair of Barn Swallows the other day feeding this one fledgling. Four would be a more normal number.
Speaking of youngsters....
finally caught sight of the young Bald Eagle! Looks ready to leave the nest...again, only saw the one. Another sad story, courtesy of a couple of birders who had sat watching with spotting scopes....there have been a pair of Osprey with a nest way out on the bay....I'm pretty sure they had young, but all were lost - possibly to feed a baby eagle?....not giving up, the pair had been rebuilding their nest and had laid an egg but with the water levels so high, a River Otter swam right up and plopped in the nest and grabbed the egg.
Still in just the nest building mode are...
the Cedar Waxwings. These guys, along with American Goldfinch are about the last to get down to business.
Still on guard duty...
the Spotted Sandpiper....hope we will get to see the little ones when they hatch.
the Hairy Woodpeckers aren't effected by the weather....that is the youngster on the right, not sure if it was mom or dad on the left....
you can tell a young one, at least a young male, by the red patch on the forehead. That will migrate to the back of the head.
At home, in the relative safety of our yard...
we've had a family of Dark-eyed Junco....that is mom on the left - she has a bad leg but it hasn't kept her from raising 3 youngsters - one of which is on the right. Daddy is also around. On the other side of the house in a quickly slapped together bird house, we have Black Cap Chickadees....mom and dad are busy feeding all day long....don't know how many young there are, hopefully will get to see them when they leave the box.
still young Steller's Jay around as well.
have also had visits of White crowned Sparrow (on left) and Purple Finch (right) but haven't seen any youngster of either species yet. Black headed Grosbeak occasionally show up and lots of hummingbird activity lately, mainly Anna's and young Rufous....in fact, now it is the end of June, the male Rufous Hummingbirds, that have been in pretty short supply around here this year, will already be starting their leisurely southward trek.
so we will hope that the water levels have peaked - for the second time and things will improve.....in lots of different ways!
Well it is officially summer.....
and yesterday it certainly looked like it as we went for a walk along the dike
this Spotted Sandpiper was very busy leading us away from where there is obviously a nest (dogs are being kept on leads right now as they are just too interested in what might be happening down along the sides of the dike.
there was a lot of calling from the eagle nest but still haven't been able to spot the young ones although there is obviously at least one there.
Speaking of young ones, have seen a lot of young Rufous Hummingbirds the last few days and our yard has been very busy with a little Dark Eyed Junco family with 3 fledglings.
Today we got out on the water for a while...
water levels are back up to their highest point for this year....out in this area which is fairly close to the main Harrison River, there were lots of Spotted Sandpiper, Cedar Waxwings and Swallows - lots and lots of swallows!
here is one of the Cedar Waxwing....
and here are just a few of the Swallows....3 Violet Green and 1 Tree Swallow.. Also saw some Barn Swallows and a few Northern Rough Wing
and then there was the Eastern Kingbirds. Every year there are a few out there.
we ventured way up into an area we've never been able to get before. There was constant bird song including calls I've never heard here or anywhere, but trying to see what was making the calls was impossible.
Did find yet more Cedar Waxwings though.
We took a week or so away, so today was the first time we'd walked over at Harrison Bay since the last post. Weather hasn't changed much but water levels have dropped slightly....
those ripples in the water turned out to be....
a River Otter...
A bit further along....
a male Hairy Woodpecker with a fledgling....
Quite a few Cedar Waxwings flying around....
and then we spotted this....
a male Lazuli Bunting! We'd seen one earlier in the spring, but to see one, in fact I think there were two, at this time of the year must mean they are nesting here which is exciting.
the Viper's Bugloss is coming into flower....
could hear lot's of Common Yellowthroat and then finally this guy showed himself and held still long enough for a picture....
Perhaps the most interesting thing though was....
taking place by the eagle nest....this adult was perched and was being constantly attacked by the smaller bird....couldn't tell what the smaller bird was until I got home and down loaded it....
turned out to be a Bullock's Oriole. The eagle wasn't paying the slightest attention to it. By the way, could hear young in the eagle nest, but couldn't see anyone yet.
Water levels continue to creep up....
here is the parking lot at Kilby as of today....it is liable to come up more than this before it reaches it's peaked.
In the meantime,
there are definitely young in the Bald Eagle nest but haven't been able to catch sight of them yet.
lot's of Bullock's Orioles! Don't recall there being so many other years - that is a good thing! Nice to see an increase in a species.
lots of Cedar Waxwings too.
Not just White-crowned Sparrows....
but also Savannah Sparrows....
So many birds, hard to see in the vegetation. Seems the young European Starlings are now leaving their nests. Have seen some young Red-wing Blackbirds as well. Most others are still sitting or haven't started yet.
With an improvement in the weather we've made it out on the water a couple of times recently....
one was a fairly short trip as it was pretty windy, but managed a decent picture of one of a pair of Spotted Sandpiper.....have been hearing them all over but don't always get to see them.
yesterday was a picture perfect day on the water.....didn't see a lot of bird life, though we could sure hear lots...
quite a few Cedar Waxwings....
and Canada Geese hiding out way back in sheltered areas.
Foxgloves coming into flower and lining just about the entire length of the bank.
Today we took a morning walk over at Kilby...
the water is just about up to the campground, which is why the campground won't be opening for a while yet.
I'm sure the geese won't mind that at all!
thought this female Mallard might have a family, but no, she was all by herself.
the Purple Martin nest boxes were sure busy though!
What a crazy year this is....even the weather is weird....it has been so cold and damp... but probably time to post a few pictures from the last little while....
lets start with this....
remember our last report and the eagle that had dove in the water and then climbed out....
well....
notice the difference? The Cottonwood tree that the eagle had initially been perched on, is now laying in the river! It seems this and several other trees have come down....why? The river has been higher before than it currently is - I suspect the very large tugs working on making and hauling out log booms may have had something to do with waves under cutting the bank.
while we are on the subject of Bald Eagles....suspect there are young in the nest, but not yet at the stage where they are visible.
It is getting to be baby bird time though....
this little guy is one of two Steller's Jay fledglings that have been hanging out near our place.
We did get out on the water one day....
that particular morning there was lots of swallow activity but we didn't see a single Purple Martin! Hoping it was just the time of day and that the females were probably sitting on eggs as there had been lots of activity before.
we did see this Bullock's Oriole, and certainly heard lots of them.
Speaking of 'hearing'...
we could hear the deep 'gulping' sounds of an American Bittern over there. Something we haven't heard here for quite a few years.
Despite the chilly weather, the Salmon Berries are ripening - much to the delight of the robins!
Not much beach left....it will be interesting to see how high the water does get as it is a very slow melt so far.
