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Category Archives: birds

Cedar Waxwings in a Nest

A lady who lives up river a ways from us gave me a call the other day to say there is a nest of Cedar Waxwings at their house and would I like to photograph it. Well, yeah. Just had to find the time this busy week. This morning I got down there around 8:30 and was delighted to see four babies squeezed into the nest and also got to see a parent come to them three different times. The adult never stayed long. These young birds are almost fully feathered and will soon be on their own, trying to figure out where the food comes from. The nest is in an old apple tree so maybe they will return in the fall when the fruit is ripe.

 

 

 

Many thanks to Nancy for sharing!

Birding Okanogan County

Four of us made a big birding loop down the Methow, up the Columbia, across the Okanogan and then up into the rocky, potholed highlands of the Colville Reservation. From there we dropped down to the Columbia River Road and then passed by Omak Lake and back down to highway 97 and then over the Loup to return to the Methow.

It was a good day of birding. We saw nearly sixty species including a pair of Long-billed Curlews shown here. They are one of my old favorite species and always a delight to see and hear and can be a challenge to find in this county.

 

This Chukar was in the middle of the road and we wondered if it was sitting on eggs or injured or something else. As we began to drive around it to the right, the bird popped up and joined another that was in the weedy grass on the left side of us. It looked like some sort of courting effort for the pair.

We saw many species of waterfowl, several types of raptors and few small birds. It seems that with the cold spring, the migration is slow to start. Besides the curlews, we saw only two other shorebirds species – Killdeer and Greater Yellowlegs. We heard a Ruffed Grouse. There were numerous Common Loons on the lower Methow. Two Osprey were calling to each other at the mouth of Methow, so loudly we could hear them with all the windows closed in the car.

All in all, a fun day of birding.

Spring is the time to clean out nest boxes

We have quite a few nest boxes on our place and a Spring ritual is to go around with a ladder and various tools and clean them out. Some people like to do this in the Fall. We think birds might like to roost in the boxes during the winter so the old nesting material may provide them a little extra warmth during the cold season. Most of the feathers in the nests are ones from ducks and geese that we ate during the previous winter. When the swallows are flying and gathering material for their nests, we toss the feathers into the air and they swoop down to catch them and take them to the boxes!

Spring is the time to clean out nest boxes

Spring is the time to clean out nest boxes

 

Sadly, some birds don’t make it out of the nest.Spring is the time to clean out nest boxes

 

Wasps in the boxes will discourage nesting.Spring is the time to clean out nest boxes

 

This nesting bird found a Northern Flicker feather to add to its nest.Spring is the time to clean out nest boxes

 

Swallow nest – Tree or Violet-green?Spring is the time to clean out nest boxes

 

Some baling twine from the straw we used to mulch our garden.Spring is the time to clean out nest boxes

 

Tiny House Wrens like to fill boxes with sticks before they build a tiny nest on top. They will also simply fill boxes with sticks to keep other birds from using them. If we see them doing this with several boxes, we try to clean the sticks out so that swallows and bluebirds can also use the boxes.Spring is the time to clean out nest boxes

 

A House Wren nest.

Spring is the time to clean out nest boxes

 

Here is a House Wren nest on top of a bluebird nest. Both nests looked sucessful.Spring is the time to clean out nest boxes

 

The bluebird nest.

Spring is the time to clean out nest boxes

 

Spring is the time to clean out nest boxes

Bald Eagle and a Steelhead along the Methow River

Warning – Not for the squeamish!

On the way home, we spied a Bald Eagle eating a hatchery raised Steelhead on the bank of the Methow River. We wondered how the bird got it. Was it stolen from a fisherman who’d left a prize catch sitting in the snow? Was it a fish that had died after being caught and escaping from a line? The Bald Eagles around here are primarily scavengers, not killing their own food. However it was procured, this bird had a very good meal before flying off with the head.

Bald Eagle eating a hatchery Steelhead along the Methow River

Bald Eagle eating a hatchery Steelhead along the Methow River

Bald Eagle eating a hatchery Steelhead along the Methow River

Bald Eagle eating a hatchery Steelhead along the Methow River

Bald Eagle eating a hatchery Steelhead along the Methow River

Sandhill Cranes and Tundra Swans

The first day of Spring featured cloudy, breezy weather bringing in sleet, rain and snow. We got out for some birding with one of the highlights being Sandhill Cranes and Tundra Swans on Cameron Lake Road east of the lower Okaongan Valley. The birds flew right across the road, giving us excellent views and a good opportunity to hear them calling back and forth. We estimated there were 200 to 300 cranes and maybe 25 swans.

Tundra Swans

Sandhill Cranes along Cameron Lake Road in Okanogan County

Sandhill Cranes along Cameron Lake Road in Okanogan County

Sandhill Cranes along Cameron Lake Road in Okanogan County

Sandhill Cranes along Cameron Lake Road in Okanogan County

Sandhill Cranes along Cameron Lake Road in Okanogan County