Spring seemed to hit today. The day started with a little fog, but promised to be sunny and warm and the birds were singing this morning all around the house. It almost felt like the first spring day in two years, as I don’t really remember one of these last year. Today I went out to Starrigavan with a friend to see if we could find any Blue Grouse.
Weather: There was a little bit of fog this morning, but it burned off fairly early. It ended up being sunny and pleasantly warm. At Starrigavan, there was still some snow on the ground on the ATV trails. It was mostly snow free in the trees, except where there was an opening that had allowed greater snow accumulation. We made it up to probably 1100 feet or so and in the clearings there, the snow was still 2 or 3 feet deep.
Birds: There were quite a few birds around the house this morning. I observed two Red-breasted Sapsuckers (first in months), a Northern Flicker, many American Robins, Varied Thrushes, what sounded like several Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and a Song Sparrow.
Out at Starrigavan, there were Fox Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, Varied Thrushes, and maybe some robins. Once we got up in the forest, past the clearcut, it was actually pretty quiet.
I’ve been told this is the time of year to hear Blue Grouse hooting, and that’s the easiest way to find them. I’ve also been told that Starrigavan is one of the better places close to town to observe them, but we didn’t have any luck with that today.
Hi! I’ve got the same birdlist as you today, down here in the Oregon bush ;0) Nice Sapsucker!