Subject: [Tweeters] Observations from a total amateur in Renton Highlands
Date: Aug 26 18:42:57 2009
From: Nancy Day - sday13 at comcast.net


Every morning I've been watching the adult Junco with their noisy little
ones, just off my back covered porch. The fledglings (I guess that is what
all baby birds are after they are out of the nest) follow mommy around and
beg to be fed. In almost all cases the little ones seem bigger than the
adults. My husband says "fluffy feathers". The past 2 days I have one Junco
feeding it's baby, but the baby is smaller, about the size of a Chickadee.
It has a subtle dark head and bib like the adult. It also has white feathers
on the outside of it's tail. The others are just a neutral color, larger and
seemingly big feet - not Junco markings.

In fact, it is totally not the same as the other fledgling Junco. I wonder
if someone would write and tell me if this is a particular breed of Junco. I
tried to capture a picture of them, but the pic came out too fuzzy to see.

I have one Junco that is missing all the feathers on top of his head, from
just behind the eyes and about the size of a nickel. The scalp is black. It
comes several days a week. I don't usually name wild birds, but I call him
Friar Tuck because he's bald as a Friar in Robin Hood.

I have a Steller Blue Jay that visits to pick up one of the handful of
peanuts in the shell that I toss out every morning. It makes the perfect
sound of a hawk in flight, I get a kick out of that as the little birds seem
to scatter when it flys in.

For the past 5 days I've had a pair of Pileated Woodpecker visit every
evening. I think it is an adult and a fledgling. The young one is a male. I
haven't had the binoculars handy to check out the other one. The first day
one sat at my bird bath and took at least 20 drinks of water. Tonight the
young male came alone and hopped from the suet feeder down to the ground and
drank out of the hose that my husband had dripping onto the base of a bush
we planted this spring. He is a noisy guy.

I love this time of year in my yard,
Nancy Day
Renton East Highlands