Deirdre and I were thinking about making a trip to Indian River falls over Christmas break, we didn't get quite that far, but had a nice walk up past the first bridge and on to the muskeg. It was snowing most of the time, we briefly saw the Middle Sister from the muskeg before it disappeared in a cloud of white.
Based on boot depth estimates, the snow depth in the muskeg was about 8 inches , in the riparian area about 3 inches and in the transition scrub between muskeg and forest the depth varied from 3 to 5 inches.
Based on boot depth estimates, the snow depth in the muskeg was about 8 inches , in the riparian area about 3 inches and in the transition scrub between muskeg and forest the depth varied from 3 to 5 inches.
We were pleasantly chatty, so probably missed some birds on our way; we did see Winter wrens, Song sparrows, Varied Thrush, Juncos and 2 Dippers. One dipper was just above the first bridge.
The snow seems to encourage alot of birds to congregate below the deck in the tangle of wild Oregon crab apple, Elderberry and Devil's club that grows below. There must be a reliable or substantial amount of seeds both
from the feeder on the deck and the plants. The juncos and chickadees that visit the feeder also hang out down below. There are ususally Song sparrows scratching up food down there. Went down to look more carefully at who might be there (after being prompted by the bird list) and found a few Fox sparrows. I tend to go by the yellow bill, but their color is more evenly warm brown. Found 4 more Fox sparrows around the island, one pair by the lake and the other by the A-frame. 
No comments:
Post a Comment