March

The months just keep flying by spring has certainly arrived. I'm excited for the arrival of returning birds that will nest here and those that are passing through on their way north or to higher elevations. With our abnormally dry and warm winter, many are arriving well ahead of schedule.

Last week I went to Whitaker Ponds and it felt like the whole park had been taken over by yellow-rumped warblers(or YUMPS). Some fellow birders picked out a lone orange-crowned warblers amid all that yellow.

I was there in late afternoon and didn't want to ride my bike home during the height of rush hour so I sat down on a log between the two ponds. All of a sudden all the ducks scattered. I looked up, expecting to see a bird of prey nearby, but there was nothing. Then I saw something swimming my way. There are always lots of nutria around so I just kinda assumed that's what it was. Then it popped up near the pond edge and it was a river otter! I have seen a few of them at Whitaker once before but from pretty far away. This one was fishing just a few feet away from me and quickly caught a fish. I was so happy to be able to capture it chomping on the fish and then briefly hanging out on a log, post snack.

I had a few fun bird sightings including a Long-Tailed Duck in the Columbia

Some Common Loons

And some fun springs things like the arrival of Yellow-rumped Warblers (also known as YUMPS)

And seeing my first Bushtit nest of the season. I recently learned that one of the pair will often sit in the nest to give it the elongated shape. It looks so cozy

I'm still getting the hang of using a digital camera but starting to have more success with it. I also just picked up a lens for doing landscape photos - just in time for hiking and backpacking season. It's even good for astrophotography so I'll probably play around with that when I head to Central Oregon in a few weeks.

I've really been enjoying this young adult sci-fi/speculative fiction series The Unstoppable by Charlie Jane Anders. It's being turned into a TV show and I hope it's as good as the books. https://www.charliejaneanders.com/unstoppable It's a serious about friendship and hope which we could all use a little more of these days.