Something Downeast

I have been hearing the Barred owl call for a couple of days; first, when a murder of crows hounded the owl. The owl roosted in the oaks near the patio and while I couldn’t see it, I could definitely hear it. It made the standard “who cooks for you?” call. I’ve since heard it several times now.

Crows engage in behavior known as mobbing; it’s when a group of crows (often a closely related clan or family) harass another bird, typically a bird of prey. Crows seem to be hard-wired to loathe owls of any stripe. Jays (also members of the corvidae family) will also react with instant hostility towards an owl. Mobbing crows generally don’t get too close to their Owl target, but they are raucous and agile as they move around and call. I long ago learned to listen to what crows were saying about their neighborhood, because they’re gossips and often, the owl early-warning system.

Yesterday I was talking with my brother and sister-in-law (serious birders) about hearing the owl and the crows, when we heard first Crows and then Blue Jays start up. My sister-in-law spotted the owl, just watching, in a nearby oak. A lot like the Barred owl just watching crows in this University of Puget Sound video.

I saw the Barred owl, quite clearly, and my brother managed to take some pictures. He says it’s probably a female Barred owl, given her large size.

Female Barred Owl; Photo Credit: Scott Spangenberg

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The Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) isn’t an uncommon bird, but it’s a bird that’s new to me. They’re a bit like Chickadees in some ways, for instance in the way they move, but they have a distinctive crest (the “tuft” of their name) that makes them pretty easy to identify. This is a less than great photo, but it’s been very hard to get a picture at all. They’re apparently in that class of bird that knows a camera on sight, and will do all they can to thwart a photographer. 

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This is the fourth time I’ve seen this male yellow-rumped warbler (Setophaga coronata), eating suet each time. He seems to prefer the suet with mealworms over suet with nuts and seeds. It’s a terrible photograph, in part because I’m a poor photographer, but also, because I’m taking photos through glass.

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Spring has arrived with a vengeance. There’s forsythia, daffodils, and shiny summer-plumage goldfinches:

Male American Gold Finch in summer plumage

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I noticed that finches were trying out the two finch feeders, filled with Niger seed, and then rapidly abandoning them for the black oil sun flower. It may be that they just prefer the sun flower, but I suspect the Niger seed has gone bad. I’ve dumped both feeders, washed them in the dishwasher after a Clorox solution rinse and refilled them with a finch mix

The finches seem happier. Here’s a male House finch:

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