Steve..We?re out here on the Peninsula, about 7 miles SE of Port Townsend
and about 200 feet above Discovery Bay. We are partially surrounded by
natural wetlands and have lots of cover and plenty of wild food for birds
around and we?ve seen a decline also. The Townsend?s thrushes left two
weeks ago. We think we had about six pairs and they were singing after
sunset on Saturday night (August 2) , and gone by Monday ? not a single call
since. The many female and juvenile Rufous hummingbirds have nearly
vanished also. Last week they were all over the place and now its rare to
see even one. The Pine siskins and American goldfinches are still around as
are the White-crowned and Song sparrows, but again, fewer in numbers, ditto
the Black-headed grosbeaks. The small flock of 3 ?5 Mourning doves are
still here and we still have at least 6 Willow flycatchers in cover at the
edges of our place. One species that has moved in are 2 ? 4 flickers, which
showed up during the past 2 weeks, but keep their distance.

I?ve noticed the goldfinches feeding on the large amounts of thistle in
adjacent fields and suspect that many plant seeds are newly available,
causing the birds to move from feeders to natural food sources. Pretty dry
here also, which may play a role.

Gary Cummins
Port Townsend, WA
casacummins at yahoo.com