Bird Ramblings - Woodpeckers

It's probably apparent that I have become slightly obsessed with the Acorn Woodpeckers in the Dallas City Park. But it's one of those things that the more you know, the more you discover there is to learn. It all began back in the middle of June when Jeanette and I were sitting on a bench in the park and saw an Acorn Woodpecker fly to a wooden snag along the creek. As we watched we saw one fly to a nesting cavity close by. The next week I got a photo of the male bringing a mouth full of bugs to the nest site. We know from past experience that Acorn Woodpeckers live, breed, and nest as a colony, and that they store acorns to use in the wintertime in holes bored in trees and power poles. Look closely at this photo taken on July 9th and notice the small circular hole in front of this Acorn Woodpecker, which will probably receive an acorn sometime this fall. This power pole is located next to the park on Robinhood Drive off of Allgood Street.  
 

Revisiting Darrow Bar

Yesterday Jeanette and I went for a bird walk at Darrow Bar an eBird Hotspot located along the Willamette River Greenway. We first birded here on February 24th of 2014 after moving to Salemtowne. On our revisit yesterday we made a checklist, which I was surprised to find it was our 55th checklist for this location. Here is yesterday's checklist. We took the short loop, stopping at the bench for a rest, skipping the extension to South and the extension to the North. We left determined to return again soon.

 

Bird Ramblings - Hummingbirds

 I have been getting quite a few reports on hummingbird activity here at Dallas Retirement Village recently. Here is a pair of Anna's Hummingbirds taken on the 23rd of June in the Central Courtyard of the Lodge. The male on the left and the female on the right were busy with breeding activities. He appears, based on his plumage, to be an immature male, so not sure how successful their breeding attempt will be, and July generally marks the end of nesting season. We will be keeping an eye out to see what happens,

Bird Ramblings - Woodpecker

In a follow-up of last week's feature of an Acorn Woodpecker in the Dallas City Park, Jeanette and I returned to our favorite creek-side bench on June 20th in hopes of getting a photo of the Acorn Woodpeckers coming and going at their cavity nest site. We lucked out and got this photo of the male bringing a mouthful of insects to their cavity nest. We continued to watch as both the male and the female repeatedly made quick deliveries to the nest site.