Vanity or curiosity?

The last few days I have noticed vehicles with bird droppings on their doors. Turns out there is at least one Song Sparrow that is infatuated with its reflection! 

I tried to catch it looking in the mirror but it stayed on the far side of the truck. I could see it drop to the front of the mirror, sit for a couple seconds then move back to the top. Although it did not go to the other mirror while I watched, there was evidence it had been there!

This truck has only been here about 2 hours. Yesterday, a van had been parked over night and it had a much larger amount of droppings than this one! I may check on it in another couple hours!

And now the work begins!

Over the last several months I have observed various birds courting, copulating and nest building. With those challenges mostly completed, I am now observing some of the next steps like this female Rufous Hummingbird sitting on a nest.

Other species like the Canada Goose are further along and are already taking the little ones out for a swim!

Life goes on for these beautiful creatures!

Things that brighten my day!

 This winter seems to have been wetter and colder than unusual. Certainly more so than last winter or maybe I am just out of touch as to what is normal for the Oregon coast having spent 4 of the last 6 winters in the southwest! Whatever the truth is, nothing brightens my spirit more than to see spring flowers. Here at the camp ground, the daffodils are in bloom. 

Even though Daffodils are not native to North America, I still enjoy their bright yellow color. A flower that is native to this area is the Trillium.

I worked as a logger for almost 20 years and when these flowers bloomed, I knew warmer weather would soon arrive. Believe me, after working outdoors all winter, warm and sunny days were something to cherish! 

Coos Tribe Dugout

I had a great opportunity today of seeing a hand carved Indian dugout! The Coos tribe launched a dugout from our boat ramp and I was able to speak with some tribe members about the dugout. 

The Coos tribe did not have a cedar log large enough for the dugout so the Quinault tribe in Washington offered them one. Although I failed to ask about size, I did find out the dugout weighs about 1200 lbs. This was a training exercise with a tribal elder instructing everyone on how to work together to propel and navigate the vessel.  Before launch, they used burning sage smoke to cleanse all participants of bad spirits. I envy them in that they have a culture and history going back centuries where as I only know of my own family history for the last two previous generations. That is when my grandparents arrived from Europe as children.