FOS for me, a female Bullock's Oriole at my hummingbird feeder on April 1st.
and for two days I think I'm seeing a Golden Eagle flying just up the canyon.
 Well the storm is over and everyone is coming out to eat.

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Tuesday , March 23rd, this past week, marked Spring Maintenance day for our local bluebirds of the bluebird trail in Indian Hill Ranch. About ten able bodies showed up to help Project Leader Karen P scrub boxes and tightened storm loosened screws. Sometimes an entire box needed replacing, but mostly we needed to replace hole extenders. A bluebird likes a small hole but bigger birds like to take that small hole and enlarge it so they can use the box.  I have an acorn woodpecker who likes to store his acorns in one of my backyard boxes. By putting on a hole extender it makes the nestbox safe from bigger birds and other unwanted predators.
As a perk for the day, we had the opportunity to see a Lewis's Woodpecker, thanks to the eagle eyes of Janet. He was my first. We even stayed to watch him while Mark went ahead with Jean. I tried hard to get a picture of him and all his colors, black and white with a red face and stomach, but he was too fast for me.The best shot I got was of him in silhouette, mouth open and a blur of a bug just within  reach. By the end of the day we saw a total of  four Lewis's.

                                                                 Here's our bird list for the trip

Lewis's Woodpecker
American Kestral
Red-tailed hawk
Red-shouldered hawk
Raven
Great Blue Heron
American Wigeon
Mallard Ducks
Red-winged blackbird
California Quail
California Towhee
Dove
White breasted nuthatch
Red breasted sapsucker
Killdeer
Acorn Woodpeckers
Steller's Jay
Western Scrub Jay
Junco
Titmouse
Hummingbird
Turkey Vultures
Northern Flicker
Black Phoebe
American Robin
Mountain Bluebird
Western Bluebirds..........................lots of appreciative western bluebirds

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I had several first of the season sightings for me this past week. I got to see a nice interaction between an adult bald eagle and a few pestering ravens. It was Feb. 12th, Mark and I were on our way to Whiskey Flat days in Kernville. Heading down the 58 is when we spotted them. Beautiful soaring eagle enjoying the updrafts of the foothills. Pesky ravens pushing him out of their area.
Then the other day, I had a black throated sparrow come into the yard. I noticed him because he was checking out one of my bluebird houses. Oh ya, have a couple of bluebirds fighting over some houses already.
Had a brown creeper stop by on Wed. then thursday's highlight, my first adult rufous hummingbird came by for a drink. I happened to be sitting outside, about a foot under his feeder at the time. If you've ever heard an adult rufous you'll understand when I say, I heard him before I saw him. Buzzzzzzzzz!
Ah Spring was in the air last week.

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 Kern River Preserve Spring Festival Days 

          On Sunday, May 3, Mark and I went to the Kern River Preserve, outside of Lake Isabella, for one of their Spring Festival Days.  It was extremely blustery but the winds were warm, a vast improvement from the cold overcast skies we left that Sunday morning in Tehachapi.

          As soon as we got there, we found our bearings by checking out the many nature displays and vendors in the headquarters parking lot. Most importantly we asked where the trail was and we were on our way. We had never been there before so everything was new and exciting. The well maintained trail led us along a nicely flowing creek with willows, cottonwoods and elms growing along its banks. There was a trail of bluebird houses with closely neighboring swallow homes. We saw lots of both species while we walked.                           

         Because the winds were up the birds were down. We didn't get to see as many birds as we would have liked, but the walk along this very level trail was well worth the trip. I'm looking forward to going back when the wind is calmer. Next time I'd take some peppermint for bug control, a hat for sunny spots and a lunch to eat in the shade.                      

        The real highlight of our trip was participating in the banding of an American Robin. Most of us know that banding is a process where a bird is gently captured in a flight net. It is then weighted, sexed, the length is measured and the age is approximated by such things as the wear and tear and colors the flight feathers. All of this data is recorded and then organized. The information is then used to track individual birds through-out their life span and help analyze movements of populations and annual production levels of species. All this information increases our knowledge and understanding of birds and their habits.

                                                     A bird in the bag.

                                            Is weighted

                                                        Measured.

                                                   Banded

                       All data collected and organized.

                                          A final goodbye.....

                                ....and thanks to the banding crew!

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Here's the picture of the leucistic blackbird that I took while in Cambria last month. I thought maybe this may help in the identification of the "strange bird sighted at the high school."

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