Lewis' Woodpeckers & Cattle Egret

Finally a pair of Lewis' Woodpeckers have returned to a location east of Florence which has been a very productive nest area for this species every year. I was getting concerned as I had not seen any Lewis' at this site yet this year. At first the pair were engaged with two European Starlings, a species that takes nest sites from them. After the Starlings flew off, they began interacting with each other with calls and body movements.

The first Cattle Egret of the season was feeding in a flooded field in Florence. Whatever it got into its mouth was rather wide but it finally swallowed it. This bird was in the attractive breeding (alternate) plumage that this species downs in spring.

There was also a even larger size flock of ibis than I saw yesterday. This group numbered around 80. All the birds I was able to scope before they flew off were White-faced, including several of what Sibley refers to as drab adult variant.

The winds got really bad today and further birding was nearly impossible (and certainly not advisable as it would endanger any birds that a birder might flush as they would be at risk of collision in the strong wind gusts)

SeEtta