Monday, March 30, 2015

Birds of Spring

On Saturday I forced Truman to go for walks at TWO parks, poor guy.  (For those who don't know, Truman is a Highly Opinionated Dog with definite ideas on when and where he will go for a walk, which is "once or twice a week", "only if I'm driven or strolled somewhere away from my house", and "only one park in a day.")

First we went to the Montlake Fill, where the morning light hit the cottonwoods just right.


We saw our first Savannah Sparrow of the season -- they are here only in Spring/Summer, and we also saw lots of returning swallows.  Here's the sparrow:


We saw lots of Mallards out and about:


Then we headed over to Magnuson Park, where I wanted to do a little sketching at the wetlands ponds, and where I had to put Truman in his stroller much of the way, as he refused to walk ("we've already been for a walk!").  The flickers were busy excavating nest holes:





A Canada Goose had found a somewhat unusual spot to chill out:


Meanwhile, a Marsh Wren popped into view for quite a long time, singing away to advertise his territory:


I managed to get a video recording -- it's on my Flickr site and runs 38 seconds:


Truman was unimpressed by all the springtime bird activity, and he was very very happy when we finally got home.

4 comments:

  1. I think His Highness should be glad that you deign to stroll him around - lucky dog.

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  2. I can't resist a bird with its mouth open and that wren is particularly adorable. I may eventually post some more pedestrian singers, a song sparrow, a white-crowned sparrow, and a spotted towhee--but none of them are as crisp or so nice a composition as your wren.

    Say, dusky Canada goose doesn't count as a new bird, does it?

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    1. ps. Also a fine video. He seemed anxious about something though I can't imagine why; a handsome fellow like that is bound to attract a nice girl.

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    2. Nope, dusky doesn't count. And I think it was some squabbling Canadas nearby that was upsetting Mr. Wren. Or possibly the kids walking by on their way to the soccer field. He sure told *them* a thing or two!

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