Evening Grosbeak, AKA "Porch Parrot"

Day 221: It is my favorite time of year for birdwatching. The Evening Grosbeaks have arrived in force. Coccothraustes vespertinus is known to those who associate with me as the "Porch Parrot", having earned its nickname while my husband and I were on a backpacking trip. He was not a knowledgeable birdwatcher by any means, and when he discovered fifty or so of these Robin-sized birds roosting in an Alpine Fir behind our camp, he came pelting back to get me. "Come quick! There's a whole treeful of parrots back here!"

The "porch" portion of the moniker was added when Mt. St. Helens erupted in 1980. Migratory, a flock was en route north when the mountain blew. They were knocked off their regular flyway by billowing clouds of ash and arrived on our front porch, many injured and badly burned. We could do nothing more than provide seed and water for them, but I believe many survived by virtue of our intervention. Each following year, the flock returned to the windowboxes looking for hand-outs of black-oil sunflower seed. In one record period of six weeks, they consumed over 500 pounds of seed!

When I moved, I left them in the care of a neighbor, so to speak. Each year, she reports their return. I have my own flock here at the base of Mt. Rainier, comporting with their Black-Headed cousins. They are well-fed and much enjoyed.