Hi Tweets,

Our daycare had an "in-service" day today, so I "had to" stay home with =
the kids. Moved a couple of rhododendrons and roto-tilled away a chunk =
of our annual bluegrass lawn..

Also, I set my mist-net for the first time since December. With all the =
activity in the yard, I didn't get much, but did band 3 (Oregon) Juncos =
and 8 House Finches. =20

One of the Juncos was a repeat from late November of '95 - she was a =
bird-of-the-year, then. The two 'new' juncos were males, and had pretty =
good body fat (doubtless from the 50 pounds of seed I've fed this winter =
:-)

Of the finches, 2 females had Fowl Pox 'warts' or lesions on their feet =
and one female had missing claws (1 on each foot) that may indicate =
she's had the disease previously. Of the males, 2 were red-plumaged, =
one orange and one yellow.

The neighborhood was full of robins, black-capped and chestnut-backed =
chickadees fussed all day in the cedars, the Steller's Jays put in an =
appearance, and a big female Pileated Woodpecker hammered on 'our' =
utility pole on Walnut Road. Our flowering quince is beginning to =
flower (time for the Rufous Hummers to be back?). I always forget how =
nice it is to spend a full day outside.

All-in-all, a nice day, and I thought I'd share.

Jon. Anderson
Olympia, Washington
festuca at olywa.net