Tag: Beaverton Bird Watch
Beaverton Bird Watch: So, you’ve found a baby bird…
By Donna Wiench, Portland Audubon It seems that nature has conspired to make babies of all kinds uniquely precious and appealing to us human types. Seeing a vulnerable baby we oooh, aaah and if there’s a need, eagerly lend a hand. But when seeing a baby bird, our instincts to “help” are typically not so […]
Beaverton Bird Watch: Bird feeders: to feed or not to feed
By Donna Wiench, Portland Audubon Before going to work for Portland Audubon two years ago, I liked watching birds, but hesitated to put a feeder outside my window. Why make birds dependent, I mistakenly thought. Fortunately, at Portland Audubon, one of my go-to colleagues for bird related information is Dan Van den Broek, our adult […]
Beaverton Bird Watch: Ravens vs Raptors
By Anne Harris Part of the fun of bird behavior is figuring out why they do the perplexing things they do. Take “mobbing,” for example. Mobbing is a coordinated swarming technique employed by some birds, like crows, to oust competitors or predators from their territory by making a lot of noise and annoying the heck […]
Beaverton Bird Watch: The Red-Breasted Nuthatch
By Anne Harris On her first visit to our Beaverton place, my then 95-year-old mother wasted no time identifying the birds we’d attracted to our balcony with their favorite foods. (Mom used the same trick to keep her six children and their friends within sight.) She recognized the red-breasted nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) in a heartbeat […]
Beaverton Bird Watch: The Hairy Woodpecker
By Anne Harris You may remember reading a few months ago about Beaverton’s friendliest bird, the downy woodpecker (Picoides pubescens), and maybe you’ve noticed this little guy at your feeder lately. Or have you? The downy woodpecker‘s markings are so similar to its cousin, the hairy woodpecker (Picoides villoses), that it is nearly impossible to […]
Beaverton Bird Watch: Attracting Birds to Your Home
By Anne Harris Encounters with wild animals? Sounds dangerous! But it happens daily here in Beaverton, thanks to the large number and variety of birds that share our trees, decks, yards and balconies, or would like to, depending on what you offer them to eat and how. Safety: There is no one food liked by […]
Beaverton Bird Watch: Nom De Plume
By Anne Harris Remember the term “onomatopoeia” from your English classes of yore? It’s the name given to a word that sounds like the thing it describes. Rude people slurp and the ruder ones burp. Cats say meow and dogs say bow-wow. But birds rule the repartee roost: They peep and cheep, twitter and tweet, […]
Beaverton Bird Watch: DIY Suet Cakes for Birds
By Anne Harris Uh-Oh. In spite of coupons from the Beaverton stores that carry them and my affection for our avian diners, I ran out of suet cakes recently. Fortunately, I’d heard they can be made at home using pantry staples most people already have. A little research taught me a lot. A perfectly suitable […]
Beaverton Bird Watch: Beaverton’s Friendliest Bird
By Anne Harris No matter what time of year it is in Beaverton, suet feeders are woodpecker magnets. If you add an upside-down feeder (that foils the starlings), you will likely be introduced to the smallest – and friendliest – woodpecker in North America: the Downy. So named for its soft, fluffy feathers that are […]
Beaverton Bird Watch: The Mourning Dove
By Anne Harris Our dog was at his usual post this morning in front of the back deck slider watching “Squirrel-Vision,” a show we produce here in Beaverton just for him. For peanuts. Really. We provide peanuts and Mr. Twitchy-Tail devours them a few inches from Boots’ nose, protected from certain death by a door […]
