Birds


"The answer to a lot of questions is a bird."  ~  Brian Doyle

 The late Brian Doyle was a treasure for so many reasons. I'll do a post about him soon. But for today, I wanted to share this apt quote. When the question is, "how do we get through this hard time?", plenty of you have told me that your answer is a bird. Or to be more precise, birds.

Some of you are already accomplished birders.

You've seen my friend Pat's astonishing photos before. She's an expert birder, and can tell you everything about the birds she tracks and photographs. She has some great stories, and fabulous photos from all over. Here's a fairly recent one, from River Street in West Linn:
(Photo credit: Pat Crane)

She also sent me this photo of a Hutton's vireo nestling:
(Photo credit: Pat Crane)
Then there's our friend Alex, who has started an urban farm in his backyard and recently added a little flock of chicks.
(Photo credit: Alex Rudine)    O
Our niece Sabina and her family have also taken up raising chickens. These folks are all living my dream.

William and Susan's resident bluebirds flew the coop this year, so to speak; new tenants may be settling in. But while the bluebird couple isn't coming around anymore for a daily happy hour of meal worms, there's never a shortage of interesting bird life on the farm.
(Photo credit: William Keyser)
William was somehow able to persuade this little owlet to pose for him.

Several of you have told me that watching birds has been bringing you more peace lately. Carl and I have been bird watching in our front garden as well as on our walks. It's great to have a front row seat on these rainy days as goldfinches and hummingbirds bathe in our fountain. And we're keeping an eye on the baby towhees in the nest high in the jasmine.

Meanwhile, Pat is an expert birder, as I mentioned. Here's a story of one of her rarer sightings, which she has kindly allowed me to share:

On St. Patrick’s Day I met my dear friend, Jill (who has ALS) at a birding site in Washington State, which is located about an hour from my house.  We were hoping to see a very rare bird, the Siberian Accentor. We drove separately to keep the 6 foot social distancing in place and settled down in our chairs to wait. Jill is still able to drive, but it has become increasingly difficult for her to hold or focus her binoculars, let alone use her camera.  We arrived there around 10am and had decided we would stay until 3pm to spot the bird.  We waited and waited.  Our cars were packed, and we were ready to take off at 3. Desperately wanting to see the rarity, I suggested we wait just a little longer.  It was Jill who spotted a new arrival in the notorious apple tree where the rare bird reportedly would land.  Sure enough, it was the Siberian Accentor!!  It flew in at 3:02pm.  I was able to get my camera on it and snap a few photos, so Jill and I have photographic proof that we indeed saw it. We were both elated as this was probably the rarest bird we would ever see, and we were able to share the joy together.
SIBERIAN ACCENTOR  (Photo Credit: Pat Crane)
It turns out that the Siberian Accentor breeds in northern Russia, eastward across Siberia, and winters in northern China and the upper Korean peninsula. It seems that only vagrants and lost birds show up in the northwestern U.S. Bravo, Pat! And what a gift for Jill. I hope that this traveler eventually found its way home.

You don't have to be an expert like Pat to enjoy the sights and sounds of birds in our midst. One of the side effects of this time of lockdown has been that we actually have a better opportunity to hear birdsong, and many have more time to spend paying attention to birds. You can get help identifying birds you see, learn everything you need to know about attracting and feeding birds, and even watch live bird cams here: Cornell University Bird Guide   

The Portland Audubon also has a variety of online resources, including this great guide to local backyard birds: Audubon Kids' Guide

Until tomorrow, be safe and stay healthy. Perhaps birds are the answer to a lot of your questions these days, too. 

 Love,
Nancie/Mom/Mimi/Grandma

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