Wow! a lot of trees leafed out over the weekend! Alders and willows are fully leafed out and the maples have bloomed. Ash, cottonwoods, and hawthorn have lots of leaves. The shrubs are full, too, with osoberry, wild rose, and snowberry making up the bulk of the riparian understory.By mid-week the waters from last week's rains subsided substantially, though some riverside trails remained flooded.
New migrants this week included ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS (finally!) on April 12 and BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER and an early PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER on April 13. A VIRGINIA RAIL called on April 15, quite late for our first sighting of the season.
I located another BUSHTIT nest under construction during the week.
The GREAT HORNED OWL chick fledged last week and is no longer on its nest.
A stunning WHITE-THROATED SPARROW is hanging out at the front feeders. The white head stripes and throat really contrast with the dark sooty gray breast.
In mammal news, a MINK was spotted this week, verifying an anonymous report on the sightings board from last week.
Cackling Goose
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Virginia Rail
American Coot
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Dunlin
Wilson's Snipe
Mourning Dove
Anna's Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Steller's Jay
Western Scrub-Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Bushtit
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Bewick's Wren
Marsh Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
European Starling
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Spotted Towhee
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
House Finch
Pine Siskin
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
