Subject: Slate Colored Juncoes
Date: Mar 21 16:09:50 2004
From: hrudkaj mary - hrudkajm at hotmail.com


This morning started with a nice look at a varied thrush feeding in the yard
with a small group of robins. A male rufous could hardly wait while I
refilled the feeders and was doing his figure 8 flight nearby. This
afternoon the male rufous hummers (3 in the yard now and at least 2 females)
have all been busy doing their J flight. The most amusing bit of that
performance is their hovering to see if anybody is watching.

This afternoon duringr a short walk down the old road past my place I scared
up a pair of mountain quai that had been picking up gravel from the base of
the old roadcut. I've been hearing them on and off in the morning for a
week or so now. I've put more food out for them and the other ground
feeders on the old lane but I haven't seen them feeding from the site yet.
They did visit several times last spring/summer even bringing their brood
one afternoon in late summer.

The finale to a very birdy day was discovering two slate colored dark-eyed
juncoes in with the flock of Oregon juncoes that feed daily on my deck. I
had gone out to read a bit after getting back from my volunteer duties at
the hospital. The birds are so used to me being around they don't mind me
sitting on the deck as they feed. Upon checking their activity I found a
pair (apparently a male and a female) slate junco feeding with the others.
Last year about this time I had a single slate-colored junco but it is nice
to have a pair now.

Mary Hrudkaj
hrudkajm at hotmail.com
N. Mason/Tahuya

_________________________________________________________________
Get reliable access on MSN 9 Dial-up. 3 months for the price of 1!
(Limited-time offer) http://click.atdmt.com/AVE/go/onm00200361ave/direct/01/