I've been lurking for a while now and have a new bird to add to my backyard
list today. My wife spied it, a band-tailed pigeon. Landed twice so I got to
see it, too. Wandered around a bit and then left after a short stay both
times. We have a lot of fir and maple trees to one side of us, so it feels
like a forest even living within about 1/2 mile of both I-5 and I-205 in the
Salmon Creek area of Vancouver.

WE have also had a lot of visits by Black-headed grosbeaks this spring. They
work at it to get the sunflower seeds from our square tubes, spring loaded
to keep the squirrels out. They spend more time there than at the tray
feeder I put out just for them.

And we have had towhees come up on our deck several times over the years to
grab peanuts and hazelnuts. I always though it had to do with their shyness,
but perhaps the idea of learned behavior fits just as well.

David Barber
Vancouver, WA