[birding] Anna's Hummingbird nest, cute overload

[Lisa Millbank]

Today there was still a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW lingering at the community garden at Starker Park, along with loads of singing WHITE-CROWNED and GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS.  One thing I like about Golden-crowns is their seemingly careless attitude about singing.  Unlike the very precise and clear White-crowns singing everywhere around the garden, the Golden-crowns' notes always quaver and they sometimes just seem to run out of steam halfway through their "Oh dear me."  Some WESTERN BLUEBIRDS were hanging around, and a male was more or less "singing" by stringing together a rapid series of "few" notes. Ms. HOODED MERGANSER was down at the duck pond where she likes to hang out with the domestic and wild ducks.  We've seen her eating bread that people bring!  At first she seemed puzzled by the other ducks' enthusiasm for this odd white spongy substance.  Now she gobbles down bread that people feed her (in fact, she's quicker and less timid than some of the professional bread-snarfing domestic ducks!),  and I'm sure many people don't even realize they're feeding a fish-eating duck.  I hope that she does OK with that as part of her diet.  She still catches fish for the majority of her diet, I think.  Peanut Queen the WESTERN SCRUB-JAY seems to be working on her nest, so that leaves her mate Mr. Shy to do most of the peanut collecting these days.  It's wonderful to see loads of VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS around now, and an OSPREY visits the duck pond to catch carp now and then.
I rode through Pioneer Park and was delayed on my way downtown by a forcefield of cuteness.  First there was an ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD sitting on her tiny little lichen and spiderweb nest.  Her nest is right above a hummingbird buffet, a lush patch of Sessile Trilliums and Large Camas, with Yellow Wood Violets and Fringe-Cups scattered around.  Contributing an unfair share of the cuteness were two Townsend's Chipmunks, calling and chasing one another wildly.  Western Gray Squirrels chased and leaped along the branches while an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER sang and darted around catching little bugs.  A BROWN CREEPER peeped in alarm as the squirrels raced up the tree he was using.  A pair of BUSHTITS appeared to be collecting nesting material.  Venturing into a cute zone like this one causes a localized time warp.  By the time I escaped, I was almost late meeting a friend for lunch.  A dangerous place indeed!
For pictures see: http://groups.google.com/group/mid-valley-nature/browse_thread/thread/8154a4ece55e22a9 
Lisa
www.neighborhood-naturalist.com
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