Woodpeckers & Oak flagging article

[Carma Sue Henry]

We've had so many juvie and molting birds around lately that it's sometimes hard to tell a molting adult from a juvie that's losing it's downier coat and getting in more mature feathers.  It's fun trying to figure it out.  Some are really easy to tell, like the Scrub Jays... others are much more of a puzzle.  This female Downy Woodpecker was a hard one.  I do think it was a molting adult, but I wouldn't bet folding money on it.  I caught a shot as it flew away that really shows off the marvelous spotted primaries.  We've found a couple of sheds on the porch recently; though they may be from a Hairy Woodpecker instead.  

We've also had a plethora of the  intergrade Red-shafted Flickers this year... at least three families.  Two of the latest clutch to come in (c 7/15) for lessons spent more time squabbling with each other than paying attention to their parents.  I got some fun vids of them 'beaking' it out.  Now they both still stay on the top rung of our set-up, lean all the way over, and use their long tongues to pick bits off the suet cake.  It looks overly complicated and not all that productive (you can see that they're only snagging little chunks on those sticky tongues) compared to perching on the lower bamboo poles and bashing away with your beak - like Mom tried to teach them.  None of the others we've seen here, even another young Flicker that was being instructed at the same time as these two, have ever feed this way.

In this droughty time we're making sure to keep lots of fresh water available for all the thirsty critters and the in the bird baths.  The fawns have started drinking water so nursing must be about over.  Today I saw what I thought was a female American Goldfinch taking a bath, but it was way too big.  Now I think it was probably a juvie Evening Grosbeak.  We seldom even see the adults, usually just as a brief sighting when they move through in spring, so it was fun to see my first juvenile. 

One of the local lists I'm on had a link to a very thorough article about oak flagging with great photos of the oak gall wasp larvae.

https://blogs.oregonstate.edu/collegeofforestry/category/the-wildlife-corner/

Carma Henry

Logsdon Ridge