Northern Pygmy Owl!

Yesterday, Michelle and I went out for our last training hike before climbing Mt. St. Helens next week. We chose to do the Elk Mountain/King's Mountain loop in the Tillamook National Forest. After we left the summit of Elk Mountain, about 500 feet down the trail towards King's Mountain, we came across a Northern Pygmy Owl just sitting on a tree stump! It was awesome to see and a Life List bird for us! Below are a couple of photos.

When we first was him (from about 100 yards away), we actually thought it was a Swainson's Thrush. But after walking a little closer, we could tell that it was an owl!


It was great to have him/her just sit there and pose for us. We rarely ever find owls, let a lone such a tiny little guy!

A few backyard photos

The yard has definitely been getting busier over the last few weeks. Most of our regulars are in and the food is going quickly! Here are some photos from the last week. Hope you enjoy!

A female Anna's Hummingbird making herself pretty.

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She lets us get pretty close to her.

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The Anna's and the Rufous both enjoy all the flowers coming up.

A juvenile White-Crowned Sparrow on our roof.

This juvie White-Crowned Sparrow seems to have been adopted by our resident Song Sparrows. The juvie follows them around and seems to be begging from them. The Song Sparrows don't seem to mind a bit.

Here is the White-Crowned Sparrow asking for some food from the Song.

A male and female American Goldfinch with a House Finch sitting between them.

A Red-Breasted Nuthatch enjoying some suet.

We haven't seen very many Black-Headed Grosbeaks this year, but this female Grosbeak visits almost everyday. Here she is grabbing a drink from the drip line.

Here she is grabbing some black-oil from underneath a feeder.

This photo was taken from our Birdcam. The Flicker has just recently started using the birdbath.

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