[birding] A few yard birds that have been hard to come by

[Joel Geier]

Hi folks,

Here are some yard birds from yesterday and today, mainly of interest as
"motorless" birds that have been hard to locate in the neighborhood so
far this year:

- A HAIRY WOODPECKER calling (peek! and rattle calls) from up on the
ridge.

- A WILSON'S WARBLER singing (though still invisible) from the ridge
above our house this morning. I thought I heard one last weekend but it
was too far off to be sure.

- A single PINE SISKIN calling briefly yesterday from a weeping willow
tree in our yard, before moving on to more suitable habitat (otherwise
the last Pine Siskins I've seen locally were a flock of 40 at Luckiamute
State Natural Area during the Airlie CBC -- there just haven't been many
finches around here since early January).

No Northern Parulas here. Townsend's Warblers are still coming through
along the ridge, but in what seems like smaller numbers. I think I heard
a Hermit Warbler with them today. However I'd like to get a visual
before I call that one, since the songs are so similar and there can be
variations with migrants coming through that aren't the usual birds from
our region.

Happy birding,
Joel

--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis