AMGO Invasion

I'm taking time out of my precious NFL viewing schedule to post here, as I neglected to do so last week.  (Actually, the only game on TV right now is HOU at ATL, and I'd rather watch a high school game than that.)  I've seen a couple of exciting things recently, but haven't been able to capture all of them for viewing here, as my wife took the digital camera with her when she went out of town on business.


Large flocks (30-50) of American Goldfinches have been visiting lately.

Two major changes have occurred since the last installment.  The first is the lower-than-usual-temperatures (it got down to freezing this past Monday morning) and the steady rain that has accompanied it (already an inch just over the past 48 hours).  In the event that the birds hadn't been following their calendars, this has apparently propelled Fall migration into motion.  (For those who aren't from around here, Western Oregon turns into the Planet Kamino from Star Wars in the Fall.) This was apparent when I saw a Ruby-crowned Kinglet in the tree outside our livingroom window yesterday morning.  I didn't expect to see them for at least another week or two.  I've also seen Brown Creepers on back-to-back Saturdays.  They are year-round residents here, but I almost never see them during the mid/late summer.  House Finches are also showing up in greater numbers than in the recent past.  On the flip side of that coin, migrating species have also been seen passing through.  A Wilson's Warbler was observed foraging through the trees outside early one morning in the middle of the month.  An Audubon's (Yellow-rumped) Warbler was vying for space at the suet basket last weekend before heading off to the coast for the rest of the winter.  Interestingly, we'll soon be seeing the Myrtle race of Yellow-rumped Warblers (predominant in the East), as a significant population winters here in the valley.  Migration patterns are funny, especially when they vary so significantly between subspecies.

The other really significant change (which may or may not be due to the change in season) is a complete inversion of the ratio of Lesser to American Goldfinches.  After AMGOs were the only Goldfinch here last winter, LEGOs began showing up in March and stuck around to breed.  AMGOs had pretty much completely gone by June or July.  A couple of weeks ago, while seeing 15-20 or see Lessers at my feeders, I began to notice AMGOs in small numbers (1-3).  That ratio was reversed by yesterday morning, when I counted 14 AMGOs at my feeders and only 7 LEGOs.  I'm not sure what this is due to, but the change in seasons is likely at least partially responsible for my (conservative) count of 40 (!) AMGOs at my feeders yesterday afternoon.  It was quite a sight: in addition to fighting with themselves over perching space on the feeders, they were actually landing on the backs of House Finches to knock them off!  Those that either couldn't get a space or had tired of fighting swarmed to the sunflower chips that I put out on the driveway.  The terrestrial feeders (30+) would eat quietly and orderly for a minute or two and then suddenly freak out and scatter for no apparent reason.  I wish that I had a camera to capture this sight.  [Note: Photo added on 10/10]


Western Scrub-Jay (taken at Skinner Butte earlier this year).  Their loud Shreeep! calls have been heard here multiple times a day over the past couple of weeks as they stop by to dine on peanuts.

Anyway, those are the highlights from the past three weeks.  We'll see if they're still showing up in the same numbers a couple weeks from now.

• Posted at Sunday, September 30, 2007 01:40 PM
• In General Category | Permalink