We have had a very pleasant week, starting when one of the local pileated
woodpeckers decided to excavate a nest in one of our snags, within easy
viewing distance, but not so close that we would bother him. He has been
defending it ever since, calling, drumming and flying around over our heads!
What a sight. There are at least two others around, so we have high hopes
for nesting this year. The flickers have decided that our gutters and
drainspouts are 1) a good place to get a drink of water and 2) a good place
to drum (equivalent to an alarm clock, 6am). Thinner, higher-pitched
drummings indicate the presence of hairy and downy woodpeckers, doing their
thing. It's been fun to be outside with all this going on.

Violet-green swallows are finally back and have been inspecting the swallow
boxes we put under the eaves for them. Thankfully we did it right and the
starlings have not been able to get in. I was really happy when the
swallows came back, they;re so much fun to watch swooping and chirping
around the yard. The other day we were standing on the deck, and one swooped
in a circle around my husband's head, not more than a foot away!! Looked
like one of those cartoons where the stars and birds are circling the guys
head. We also found a robin egg (hatched) under a tree, but no nest.
Don't robins carry their eggshells away from the nest to fool predators?

Last Friday we put in 1/4 acre of native plantings where blackberry tangles
used to be. We're really happy about that accomplishment; we've been
planning this for about a year. Now we and the birds have a whole landscape
of edible berries and native plants, with a stream for the birds to spash
around in. Now for the other 2 acres...

My neighbor reported that we had evening grosbeaks through last week - I
didn't see them, but she says they migrate through very quickly in the
spring (she has lived here 35 years). She also saw a fox (!) usually we
just have coyotes, who are howling up a storm in the ravine (one spring
event I'm not too fond of).

Times like these make it all worth while. Hope everyone in Tweeterland is
having a pleasant spring!

Teresa Michelsen
tcmnem at halcyon.com