Neck Point and Buttertubs this week

Hi there,
Sorry to have missed so much time between posts. I went out this week to both Neck Point Park and Buttertubs Marsh. Lots of interesting bird activities going on in both locations.

In Neck Point many of the warmer season birds have started to return. There are several types of warblers including the two species of Yellow Rumps both Audubon and Myrtle. There also seems to be a lot of Orange Crowned Warblers in the alder trees. In the new section of the park there is also quite a bit of activity from the American Gold Finches. The male birds are all in their mating colors now with bright yellow bodies and the tell tale black spot on their forehead. I ran accross a Robin's nest not more than five feet off of the ground with three chicks in it just ready to jump out. The mother Robin was busy of course delivering beak fulls of fresh earth worms. I also encountered an interesting little Fly Catcher (Pacific Slope Flycatcher I think?), near sunset beach.

The Woodpecker activity seems to have tapered off for now with just the odd call being heard from a stray Red Shafted Flicker here and there. I checked out the Pileated Woodpeckers nest but it has been silent and seems deserted with no signs of activity for several days now.



Buttertubs Marsh is also quite active with the return of many of the usual spring birds. I got my first pictures of this years Common Yellow Throated Warblers and got some fleeting glimpses of Yellow Warblers as they bounced around in the Hawthorne trees. I heard a shrill cry from the middle of the marsh and saw that an Osprey had landed on the tower. It kept dissapearing and reappearing as I traveled around the trail at the edge of the marsh. Leaving temporarily to hunt and then returning to rest on the tower.