Strangely Feathered Anna's

Evan took this shot of a male Anna's Hummingbird at our feeder 12/30/08. Note the strange objects around the bill. Dennis V. has suggested that these look like parasites.

After some surfing around on the web, I was leaning toward the possibility that these are hummingbird flower mites.

However, after some sharing of the photos with Mike P. and others more experienced with hummers, it appears these are simply the first gorget feathers of a young male coming into his own.

Northern Flying Squirrel

Earlier this past fall I was tramping around south of Ft. Clatsop on Weyerhauser reprod (~20 yr old hemlocks), when Reba sniffed out a northern flying squrrel (Glaucomys sabrinus) den. One sleepy little guy scrambled out of the top opening and made a getaway to a nearby trunk. Later, when I got a Moultrie D40 trail camera for my birthday, this site was my first target.

Above is the one shot I got of the squirrel in the wee hours of the morning. All you see is his hindquarters, because they usually immediately run around to the opposite side after landing to avoid capture by possible hungry owls. This is only the second or third flying squirrel I have managed to see in some 30+ years of tramping.

Last Day O' the Year

Well, it's been quite a year. Last year it was wind that dominated our senses. This year we end (almost) with snow on the Spruce Log. Evan got this view of the Astoria Column on Dec. 14.

I am wondering what the New Year will bring. We've had over 7 inches of precipitation at Lyngstad Heights since December started.