Birds

[flowerbug]

i follow what is happening at various salt lakes just because water and life are interesting to me and how humans can change things. Mono Lake is one of them:

Argentina to California Phalaropes Stitch Continents as Lakes Vanish

Each summer at Mono Lake, Wilson’s phalaropes double their weight on clouds of alkali flies. Then, almost invisibly, they arc six thousand miles to Argentina’s Laguna Mar Chiquita—linking two distant communities now bound together by a fragile bird and vanishing waters.

latinamericanpost.com

and now i'm learning about Abert Lake and the ancient Chewaucan Lake and Chewaucan River and the Great Basin redband trout.

Chewaucan River - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[digitS']

I saw a pair of Juncos this week. I see that they are now being called Dark-eyed Juncos and the more local term of Oregon junco will have to be moved to history .

They are here year around but I usually only see them late and early – probably as they move to and from more forested locations.

Of more significance was the pair of Robins. They may have been here through the Winter because they were in a location where I have seen them (not often) at this time of year.

Even at that, fairly often, small flocks of Robins show up in the middle of Winter and raid the Rowan trees of berries. Then, they disappear. It’s a mystery to me where they come from and where they go.

Steve

 

[Shades-of-Oregon]

The hummer are more active this year as winter has been fairly mild. Several sunny days with blue skies.
Ravens and robins around here are common suburban foragers . Ravens dominating more rural areas . Robins are year-round residents often seen in the lawns and pastures searching for worms. They have stuck around all year and constantly squawking. Noisy lil buggers I can hear them over the compact tractor.

A warmer than usual winter this year and bright sunny days encourages the resident hawks out to hunt as they fly above the ravens screeching incessantly. All this activity makes me think the fields must be full of enticing menu items like various insects and ground critters. Which in fact tells me that my pastures are as not as free from all those Belding ground squirrels, moles, voles, etc. as I thought it was. Well… Back to the drawing board at least that’s what the birds tell me.