Here in the Portland area, I am finding Bewick's Wrens in roughly normal
numbers. Golden-crowned Sparrows seem to be markedly reduced in number. I
covered a 3.2 mile stretch of the Springwater Trail and found ONE
Golden-crowned and ONE White-crowned Sparrow vs. 22 Song Sparrows and six
Bewick's Wrens, in habitat that typically harbors lots of Zonos and
Juncos. Juncos also seem down somewhat. I think the hot, dry summer and
early fall weather wreaked havoc on the weed seed crop these birds depend
upon. Even the blackberry crop was affected, with blackened, shriveled
fruits on the vines by mid September. Robins, however, are abundant - we
haven't had a strong freeze yet and the grass is still green. Overall, we
haven't had winter yet. Yesterday, I saw a rosebush with several fresh
blossoms.
Jeff Hayes
Portland
On Mon, Jan 7, 2019, 6:18 PM <philliplc@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Robins have also been ubiquitous in Lincoln City
lately. Plus early yesterday morning I saw at least
200 scattered feeding in one Schooner Creek
pasture.
Phil
