>I love these kinds of backyard posts; I wonder if tweeters who post them
>could indicate what neighborhood or area of the NW they live in...

>H Hertzel


Hi Tweeters,

I, too, enjoy the backyard postings, and presume there are more than two of
us who do. If not, don't read this message! I apologize in advance for
the length of it, but at least I don't do it often.

I live in Blaine, Whatcom County, on the western, downhill side of a slope,
which protects my yard from the strong, northeast winds that plague most of
the county during the winter. The nastier the weather elsewhere, the more
birds visit my yard. There are many huge Douglas firs around my property,
a vacant lot overgrown with blackberries 15 feet from one of my feeders,
and across the street several overgrown, wooded lots. It's a great spot
for a lazy, backyard birder.

Common visitors to my feeders are Black-capped and Chestnut-backed
Chickadees, Red Breasted Nuthatches, various Sparrows, Downy Woodpeckers,
Dark-eyed Juncos, what I think are Pine Siskins, and House and Purple
finches.

(Question: Does the male finch's coloring become brighter in the spring?
I don't know if it's my imagination, a different bird, or just improved
lighting this time of year, but the red on my visitors seems much more
intense than it was a month ago.)

My yard was overrun with Varied Thrushes and Spotted Towhees during the
colder weather, and I still see them periodically. I've seen what I
believe to be a Golden-crowned Sparrow flitting around in the blackberry
brambles. A beautiful Northern Flicker graced my suet feeder on several
occasions. I believe this was a hybrid; it looked like a yellow-shafted,
but had a red moustache. This was the first year I've seen this bird. A
Pileated also visits the suet on rare occasions. Last spring mama Pileated
and her two (large!) babies stopped briefly on the telephone pole next door
as a special treat for me.

Stellars Jays nest in a Doug fir off the foot of my yard, and stay year
round. During the snowy weather I had a sad looking Robin in the yard, but
since the weather improved, I haven't seen him or any of his brethren.

Twice I've seen a Coopers Hawk feeding in my yard; the second time I
couldn't stand it and had to intervene. S/he came right up to the back
steps off the sliding glass door, after a chickadee that was hiding under
the steps. Although I went rushing up to the glass door, she just ignored
me until I actually opened the door. I got a good long look at this
gorgeous bird, and saved my little Chic, too. (Yes, I know, I shouldn't
interfere with the natural order, but I get very maternal over "my" birds.)
It was interesting to see how quiet the yard got after her visit; it
usually looks like the ground is moving, there are so many birds
scratching. But for about 30 minutes there was almost no movement, except
occasionally a small bird would dart out from under a shrub and head for
the safety of the brambles.

Well, enough from my back yard. Spring is coming fast, I'm looking forward
to the new arrivals.

Ronaye Tylor
Blaine, WA
rtylor at telcomplus.com
http://www.telcomplus.com/~rtylor
"Low Budget Gardening: The Real Dirt"





Ronaye Tylor
"There's nothing like a little dirt to spice up one's life."
http://www.telcomplus.com/~rtylor
rtylor at telcomplus.com