I haven’t gotten around to retrieving the Rodriguez from the bike locker yet, so for me it’s another car-assisted birding day; and Rachael decided on a walk out to the end of Leif Erickson Drive and back - a beautiful but unpaved route that I’ve biked several times but never walked.
It’s that time of day. This was shot with the phone but think I’ll try using the Canon to see if I can get a clearer shot next time.
Rachael’s hike was more successful than my trip to Oaks Bottom, which proved to be a birding bust. There are often a number of birds on and around the lake, but today it was almost empty. I was lucky to come away with fifteen birds, and none of the new ones for the year I could hope to see here. And I hardly heard any birds either. Instead, I heard the incessant buzz of chain saws wielded by a trail maintenance crew. Trail maintenance is important work so I don’t begrudge it. Just unlucky timing today.
On the other hand, it’s gorgeous out today, and suddenly spring. Crocuses and daffodils are popping out of the ground and the first fruit trees are starting to blossom. We couldn’t have picked a better time to return to Portland.
I like all of the different colors in this, and the way the fallen cottonwood has scraped surface of the bark off the one that caught it. Also there’s the sign of resistance spray painted on it.
A western gray squirrel this time (the other was an easterner). The westerners are larger - they’re our largest tree squirrel species - and have fuller, bushier tails. They’re also an endangered species, due to habitat loss and competition from the invasive easterners that everyone wishes would just go back where they belong.
My day ends with an experimental run, to see if Lucky Lab has anything I can drink. They do, and it looks like it’s a recent change. There’s a card in the counter saying that NA beers are now available. We’ll have to come back with the Rodriguez soon.
