Although I really do enjoy gardening, I could never become too serious about it. The problem with gardening for me is that the peak of activity in the garden coincides all-to-well with the peak of spring migration! I can’t seem to be in the garden without binoculars around my neck, and that can hamper various activities.

However, I have been spending quite a bit of time this spring enhancing our backyard’s bird habitat. Lots of native fruit-bearing bushes, flowers for hummingbirds – and butterflies, and increasing cover in various corners of the yard. The finally perennial and annual purchases need to be made yesterday, so Jeannette and I planned to forgo a full-day birding trip. Instead, we spent a few hours in the morning birding in Portland, before hitting the garden centers on the way home.

First, at Evergreen Cemetery, we found only a smattering of warblers, but one was a gorgeous male Mourning Warbler, our first this year. (They’re a typical late migrant, usually not showing up until the last week of May). But, migration is certainly winding down, so we only tallied eight other species of warblers, most of which were likely local breeders.

Our next stop was Dragon Field. Jeannette found a Willow Flycatcher here on Monday – a bird that I needed for my Dragon Field patch list. So, the chase of this bird was a goal of this morning’s outing. While waiting for it – not hearing or seeing it though – I spotted an even better “Patch Bird,” as a female Orchard Oriole was foraging on some Chokecherry blossoms. Dragon Field Patch Bird #145! We walked around the area, enjoying a glorious male Indigo Bunting and watching the antics of the resident Bobolinks. As we returned to the corner where Jeannette had the flycatcher yesterday, we heard the distinctive, sneezy “fitz-bew” of this drab olive Empidonax flycatcher. Willow Flycatcher: Dragon Field #146!

So, the decision to spend the day gardening paid off in two Dragon Field birds! Huh, my bird garden is already producing birds. . . elsewhere! While the Willow Fly was a bird that I had identified as a likely candidate to be added to my list there, I was not expecting an Orchard Oriole, a somewhat rare, and very local, visitor to our area. As I look at the checklist, I see a few holes left on my pursuit of 150 in this patch. However, there really is nothing “easy” left. A few regular, but very, uncommon migrants could be added: Philadelphia Vireo, Cape May Warbler, and Mourning Warbler. All of those, especially the Mourning Warbler is a late migrant, and one that I could easily pick up in the first week of June. I probably missed my window until fall for a migrant Yellow-throated Vireo or Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, a Red-bellied Woodpecker could show up again, and an Evening Grosbeak could pass over at any time. Other than that, I may just have to find, or chase, a rarity to finish off this Patch List!