We took a 14 mile (7 miles downstream and back) canoe trip on the
Black River on Saturday April 6. It was rainy, misty and cool but
the birding was great. Heard a Ruffed Grouse drumming just as we
put in two miles south of Little Rock. Didn't hear another one. A
little ways downstream we heard a Varied Thrush, again the only
one we heard. But ducks were all along the river. We felt guilty
flushing them up. There were many Mallards, several pairs of Wood
ducks, Hooded Mergansers, Red-breasted Mergansers plus a few
Common Mergansers, and a couple of Buffleheads. Great Blue Herons
were all along the river. We even got two wonderful views of the
Green Heron. Their bright orange feet, dangling behind them as
they flew from branch to branch, were quite striking. Steller
Jays and Robins flew back and forth across the river at the north
end of our trip while Kingfishers seemed to be more numerous in
the south end. Five miles south of the put-in spot just as the
river makes a big bend, an Osprey nest atop a double-topped
Douglas fir was being refurbished by the Osprey. What a gorgeous
spot for a nest! Oh yes, there were duck nest boxes along both
sides of the river in the northern part of our trip, newer ones
of fiberglass, older ones of wood, and each with a number. Plenty
of takers I'm sure. Heard the Black-capped Chickadees singing
their sad song in the minor key (nesting time you know). Song
Sparrows sang from every bend in the river while Bewick's Wren
came in a close second, doing a good job of sounding like the
Song Sparrows. It made me remember the time we were birding
around Junction, Texas and I kept hearing a Song Sparrow, but all
I could find was the Bewick's Wren. I finally realized that it
was the wren sounding like a Song Sparrow. Later on I read that
they can sound very much alike but the Bewick's Wren has phrases
that are entirely different and of course the Song Sparrow has
his own individual notes and scolds. We were able to bring the
canoe up to the edge of the river and get a good look at a Ruby-
crowned Kinglet perusing the bushes, not saying a word, not even
his jid-it notes. We had a kinglet at our house the other day
that was just starting his sotto-voce warmup, certainly not the
forte that bursts forth later on. We heard them in S.E. Alaska
singing from every treetop. Such a tremendous voice for such a
little bird -- which brings up the Winter Wren. We only heard one
along the canoe trip. We saw one group of Mourning Doves fly over
but could hear then in many places; their song really carries a
long way. Along one section of the river, we heard a single
Raven calling from the timbered hills, the steep riverbanks
glowing with huge, brilliant, white Trilliums. Several crows
flew around the southern portion of the river where houses start
to appear. Saw only one Red-winged Blackbird and heard a few Red-
breasted Nuthatches. Tree Swallows flitted across the sky and
would occasionally land in the several snags along the way. On
our return trip the swallows were all resting on the wires at a
powerline crossing. There were nice holes in the snags for Tree
Swallows to use. Northern Flickers were also investigating the
snags and calling and calling. Even with all the rain and mist it
was a great day for birding and canoeing. We saw only one other
canoe during the 5 1/2 hour trip.

Erin

Bill and Erin Woods Woods Tree Farm Redmond, WA U.S.A.
<wwwbike at halcyon.com>