I was able to spend about 4 hours sitting in the sunshine today on the back deck near my feeding station. The feeding station is very active with finches of various sorts going through about 5 lbs. of black sunflower a day. I have numerous Purple Finches, House Finches, and a few Cassin's. I can observe them through a window just 6 inches from my face and have now reached the point that I can ID each of the "Red" finches pretty quickly.

I have a gang of about 15 Steller's Jays that visit on and off all day. I now have a couple who will hop on the table next to me and snatch peanuts from my hand. I also have a number of Scrub Jays who still go for dry catfood rather than peanuts or anything in the feeders and seed trays. I spread out high quality bird seed on the deck and get Juncos and Sparrows (Fox, Song, White Throated, and Towhees) - some of which will hop on and over my feet if I remain still. New additions to the deck gang are Mourning Doves - as many as 6-7 at a time on the deck, many more feed off the ground about 15 feet below.

Today I had a White Breasted Nuthatch. I have dozens of Red Breasted but a White Breasted does occassionally make a stop. The Bushtit flocks are getting bigger and bigger and when in force they make the suet feeders look like a wriggling mass of feathers.

Overhead I've had huge numbers of geese passing on their southward journey - all day and most nights - I love the calls and seeing flock after flock coming in a pretty continuous flow. Today 81 Sandhill Cranes came through in a single flock and I also had 2 Soaring American White Pelicans moving up the Columbia. A group of 9 Turkey Vultures did fly low moving south and using the east wind to soar yesterday, October 21.

I can hear Great Horned, Barred, Saw Whet and Screech owls every night and saw a Northern Pygmy Owl fly into the trees and dense undercover below the house. Will he day hunt at the feeders?
My activities are pretty much limited to going to the doctor, sitting and reading, napping, and watching the birds each and every day. Fall color has splashed the trees along our mountainside and out on the horizon as far as I can see. I think this is the best year for red leaves I've ever seen in the Northwest - with Pacific Dogwood and Bitter Cherry showing great color along with Sugar Maples that are scatterd about by birds eating seeds from landscaping specimens. The oranges and yellows are also breathtaking with lines of color from Big Leaf Maple, Norway Maple (introduced), Vine Maple, and especially native cottonwoods and introduced poplars and aspens.

Hoping I get some more sunshine tommorow.

Rob

Rob Conway
Camas, WA
45.58?N 122.44?W - elevation 310 ft.
robin_birder at hotmail.com