Rufous Humming bird nest, etc.
The spring North American Migration Count (NAMC) was conducted today nationwide, and I was a member of the team here in my home county (Yamhill) counting all the species of birds and numbers of individuals we could find. One of the 74 species I found was a Rufous Hummingbird that was very nervous about me being so close to her nest. As soon as I moved away, she settled down again on the two pure white eggs in the nest cup that measured not much more than 1 inch in diameter. As is typical, she had decorated/disguised the outside by attaching pieces of lichen all around.
In early afternoon, near the Willamette River, this Golden-crowned Sparrow seemed about as interested in me as I was in him. It's always a little surprising to find Golden-crowns here this late in the season since he is still perhaps several hundred miles south of where he will be nesting in a few weeks.
In late afternoon along a dirt road through open, flat fields, I found several Horned Larks. I'm not sure if they are the threatened "Streaked" subspecies, which is found here in the Willamette Valley. They did not appear to be very "streaked."
2 Comments:
What a treat to see the hummer nest! I must have nesting GC Sparrows nearby as I am still seeing at least one coming to the feeders.
I would have assumed the same thing, but the record shows that there is only one unconfirmed report of the Golden-crowned Sparrow nesting in Oregon. That report was from near Coos Bay back in 1982. Apparently the birds we are seeing now are about to move out soon, and will not nest in Oregon. They only rarely nest south of the Canadian border. Of course, it would be quite satisfying to find the first confirmed nest in Oregon. :-)
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