Things are evolving here. With the support of a new boss I've been able to resist pressure from park neighbors to chainsaw down dead and dying cottonwood trees in the undeveloped area of the park. The local Downy Woodpecker pair have riddled them with holes and now, in addition to the woodpeckers themselves, these holes are providing nest cavities for the local Black-capped Chickadees and, for the first time in the 25 years I've been here, Tree Swallows! Beyond that, last week I finally located the Cooper's Hawk nest here - another first. Furthermore, the numerous pairs of Cedar Waxwings that have been present here since early spring lead me to suspect that they are nesting here too. The capper: on Monday morning along the nature trail I observed a pair Red-eyed Vireos foraging together. They carried food. I wasn't able to find a nest through all that folage, but I'm suspicious. All of this on the bank of the Columbia River opposite the mouth of the Snake and at an elevation of 430 feet above sea level in the lower Columbia Basin.

Dennis Rockwell
Kennewick, WA
dennrockwell at surfbest.net