Finley adventures 4/6

[Lisa Millbank]

Happy Spring everyone!

It seemed like Finley was the destination for a lot of people yesterday (Sunday 4/6).  When we arrived there was frost, but the day turned out so nice it chased winter out of our thoughts and we were really grateful for the warmth of spring.

Every shrubby area was full of Common Yellowthroats, and Orange-crowned Warblers were singing in all the deciduous woods.  A couple of Cliff Swallows had returned to the Finley Rd. barn.  There were also a few Ospreys, many Violet-green and Tree Swallows, Turkey Vultures, and Rufous Hummingbirds.  Welcome back, to all those little travelers.

A couple of Song Sparrows went careening into the grass and had quite a scuffle.  The victor sang loudly and the fight convinced a singing Marsh Wren to pick another perch where the neighbors weren't so rowdy.

 

We heard a Fox Sparrow singing, and saw a Hermit Thrush briefly.  A Lincoln's Sparrow was hanging around Cabell Marsh.  A flock of Greater White-fronted Geese flew over Finley.  Soon all those birds will leave us until fall.

 

In the woods in the north part of the refuge, we got a look into the private lives of some Winter Wrens.  A male Winter Wren was singing on a 10' rotten stump.  Then he flew down to a knothole and a female joined him.  She entered the hole and emerged a few times, and Mr. Wren was just beside himself with excitement or anxiousness.  While Ms. Wren investigated the nest for a few minutes, Mr. Wren fluttered his tiny wings, fanned his stubby little tail, and frantically preened himself.  Then he picked some moss and presented it to her, and she accepted his gift of nesting material.  After the wrens left the nest for a while, we took some pictures of the cavity.  We would never have noticed it had they not been performing their courtship.  I posted some photos, but it was too dark to get very good pictures of the quick little birds.  Don got some great video, and you can see it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyNJ8ptXaq0  Warning: this video contains shocking scenes of raw, uncensored, extremely graphic cuteness.  Viewer discretion is advised!

We found a Calypso Orchid bud, and several Western Trilliums in full bloom.  Also blooming were Spring Beauty, Wood Violet, Western Buttercup, Wild Strawberry, and Red-flowering Currant. So many familiar little leaves have popped up: Inside-out Flower, Star False Solomon's-Seal, Angled Bittercress, Western Meadow-Rue, Western Starflower.  A few Willamette Valley Bittercresses were blooming on the prairie.

Since the fall closure of most of the refuge, the elk have probably grown accustomed to wandering around pretty undisturbed in the middle of the day.  It must be strange to have all these scary primates suddenly appearing everywhere.  A family with some squealing kids walked around Cabell Marsh, and panicked a bull elk, who waded across the marsh right toward Don and me.  We'd endured a bit of ribbing about our camouflage clothes yesterday (a man walks up to us, exclaims, "Whoa!  I didn't see you!", etc.) but the camo did its job, as by standing still, the bull didn't see us.  He has just lost his antlers and it looks like his pedicles (the attachment points on his skull) haven't started to grow a new set yet.  The bull headed for Muddy Creek where he could finally relax with no people around.  On the photo you can see the pedicle in front of his right ear.

A few Common Garter Snakes were soaking up the sun's wonderful warmth.  We saw a Painted Lady butterfly and some other fast orange butterfly we couldn't identify.  Some kind of meadowhawk was our first dragonfly of the year.

Lisa Millbank
Don Boucher