Birding from the Van

Continuing rain, cold and snow in the recent days have caused us to choose to do most of our birding from the van. It's a good option. It's warm and dry in the van, and a comfortable way to bird without causing pain to my back. 

This bird, a female American Kestrel, America's smallest member of the Falcon Family, was spotted while driving on Sauerkraut Rd. in rural Polk County. Here is our eBird Observation List.
 

Winter Survival

We still have snow on the ground, and when we went out this morning to check on the van, we noticed a lot of bird activity, particularly Western Bluebirds! We wondered what they could be finding to eat.  We noticed that they seem to be checking out the bare spots under the shrubbery.  Then, Jeanette noticed that they were also looking for water. We were inspired to provide some food and water for them.  I put out a suet feeder and Jeanette set out some meal worms and a dish of water.  

 A female Western Bluebird, one of a group of five, is shown here in a tree all fluffed up trying to stay warm.

Next, we noticed the group found the Beautyberry (Callicarpa bodinieri). A thank you goes out to my sister-in-law, Patty Blair, for the plant identification.  This male and the rest of the flock went right to work harvesting the berries.

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Thursday's Bird Watch!

This Dark-eyed Junco was photographed at a seed feeder at the Assisted Living facility here in Dallas Retirement Village on January 19th.  Dark-eyed Juncos are the first birds I remember as a child.  I recall looking out my grandmother's window and seeing the Juncos on the snow. Their dark colors made such a striking contrast against the white snow.  Consequently, I always consider Juncos to be winter birds, and that's basically true. Although Dark-eyed Juncos have been observed here at Dallas Retirement Village year around, their largest numbers are normally seen in the winter.  However, this year seems different, and I don't know why, but we have yet to see any large flocks. 
 

More Birding from the Walker

We continue to go for a bird walk almost every day. The big impediment is my walker. It takes a little more logistics to load and unload the walker into either the car or the van. And then there is the consideration that the birding destination needs to have a concrete sidewalk for the walker. This does limit the possibilities; however, the walker is a necessity, and it allows me to sit, and by resting my elbows on the handlebars I am able to hold the camera still enough to take photographs. An example is the Anna's Hummingbird male, taken this morning at the Ash Creek Restoration Site in Independence. 

The big news, lurking in the background, is that on Friday we had an appointment with Dr Orina, a Neurosurgeon at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, and we are now on the path for a Laminectomy & Fusion in the next few months. Hopefully this will lead to the freedom of normal walking and no dependence on a walker.  

 

Thursday's Bird Watch!

 Our balcony was very busy last Thursday with what we assumed was courtship behavior by a pair of Anna's Hummingbirds.  This went on for hours, making it hard for us to get anything done.  After three days of observing them chit chatting on the perch and then breaking out into full blown war, and then settling down for more conversation, only to repeat the whole drama over and over, we realized on close examination that we did not have a pair in courtship, but two females, bickering over the feeder or whatever. A male would also look different with a more complete throat patch.

Thursday's Bird Watch!

This White-crowned Sparrow was photographed on a seed-feeder at the Assisted Living facility here in Dallas Retirement Village on January 20th.  White-crowned Sparrows are one of the easier birds to identify with their striking white crown stripes, and in Spring you cannot help but hear the males singing out boldly. They are year-round residents here at DRV, preferring to build their round grass formed nest in low shrubbery.  In fact, I found a nest with four eggs in a rosebush here at DRV at the Japer Street Entrance in May of 2020.  It's hard for them to make it through a nesting season without being interrupted by the gardeners, but that is the world we live in.  
 

First Vulture Sighting of the Year

Jeanette spotting the Turkey Vulture over the trees

After lunch today we went in search of new birds for this year's Polk County eBird List.  At the top of the list was the Red-breasted Nuthatch. It has the highest percentage for us to see, and one of the locations we have observed it in the past was the Ash Creek Restoration Site in Independence. Plus, I figured the trees along the creek would give us some protection from the bitter north wind. We did not hear or see any Nuthatches, but we did get a complete surprise of a Turkey Vulture! This is a bird we would not except to see this far north until sometime in March. Not only was this a first sighting for us in Polk County, but this is also a first sighting this year for anyone in Polk County!