Yankee Fork
@yankeefork.bsky.social
Oregonian, anthropologist, grandmother, birder, dog lover. Proud Democrat. Sewing, embroidery, beadwork, crochet. #SEVENTEEN #HillaryandKamala are my Presidents. #BLM #LGBTQ lives matter, too. #SlavaUkraini! 🇺🇦 #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth
Big excitement at my bird feeders this morning, a new species far from home: a male Black-throated Blue Warbler! It sampled several feeders. Never expected to see this bird in the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon! Here are a couple of my pics, plus the range map from All About Birds (Cornell). 🪶
November 6, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Big excitement at my bird feeders this morning, a new species far from home: a male Black-throated Blue Warbler! It sampled several feeders. Never expected to see this bird in the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon! Here are a couple of my pics, plus the range map from All About Birds (Cornell). 🪶
November is National Native American Heritage Month.
November 4, 2025 at 3:44 AM
November is National Native American Heritage Month.
Finally got a photo showing the beautiful iridescence of the Black-billed Magpie! Taken yesterday on the road to Independence Pass in Colorado. 🪶
October 14, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Finally got a photo showing the beautiful iridescence of the Black-billed Magpie! Taken yesterday on the road to Independence Pass in Colorado. 🪶
October is National Bullying Prevention Month. From suicides to school shootings to domestic violence to psychological troubles, the trauma from bullying leaves its mark on society.
October 6, 2025 at 6:17 PM
October is National Bullying Prevention Month. From suicides to school shootings to domestic violence to psychological troubles, the trauma from bullying leaves its mark on society.
Leucistic wild turkeys in eastern Oregon. Leucism--disruptions in an animal's normal pigmentation resulting in white or pale feathers/fur--can be distinguished from albinism by looking at the eyes, beaks, feet, and so forth, which retain their normal color in leucistic individuals. 🪶
September 24, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Leucistic wild turkeys in eastern Oregon. Leucism--disruptions in an animal's normal pigmentation resulting in white or pale feathers/fur--can be distinguished from albinism by looking at the eyes, beaks, feet, and so forth, which retain their normal color in leucistic individuals. 🪶
September 4, 2025 at 6:32 AM
Don't be scientifically illiterate! Get your jabs! August is #NationalImmunizationAwarenessMonth.
August 1, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Don't be scientifically illiterate! Get your jabs! August is #NationalImmunizationAwarenessMonth.
Not a bird, obviously, but thought I'd share my pic of a Little Brown Bat in my yard with several "bat bugs"--genus Cimex, same as bed bugs--hitching a ride. Apparently bat bugs rarely kill their host. They just look hideous! (There was no physical contact between me and the bat.)
July 23, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Not a bird, obviously, but thought I'd share my pic of a Little Brown Bat in my yard with several "bat bugs"--genus Cimex, same as bed bugs--hitching a ride. Apparently bat bugs rarely kill their host. They just look hideous! (There was no physical contact between me and the bat.)
Love these so much! I have several fledglings in my yard (in eastern Oregon) right now. They have red feathers on the *tops* of their heads at this stage. 😊
July 23, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Love these so much! I have several fledglings in my yard (in eastern Oregon) right now. They have red feathers on the *tops* of their heads at this stage. 😊
On MAGA masculinity:
July 16, 2025 at 3:50 PM
On MAGA masculinity:
Would take a huge amount of courage, but this recent New Republic article provides maybe a tiny bit of hope?
July 7, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Would take a huge amount of courage, but this recent New Republic article provides maybe a tiny bit of hope?
Too late, Congressman! 😡
July 7, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Too late, Congressman! 😡
Cliff Swallows' mud nests under the eves of the Mono Basin Recreation Area Visitors Center at Mono Lake in California. You can see some of their little white uni-brows peeking out. 🪶
June 10, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Cliff Swallows' mud nests under the eves of the Mono Basin Recreation Area Visitors Center at Mono Lake in California. You can see some of their little white uni-brows peeking out. 🪶
Love is love. Full stop.
June 2, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Love is love. Full stop.
Happy 10th Anniversary to the phenomenal Korean band, SEVENTEEN! All 13 members have been together the entire time--that's some serious bonding and dedication! So proud of you and all your accomplishments so far!
May 25, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Happy 10th Anniversary to the phenomenal Korean band, SEVENTEEN! All 13 members have been together the entire time--that's some serious bonding and dedication! So proud of you and all your accomplishments so far!
Finally seeing hummingbirds in my yard (eastern Oregon, 2700 feet in elevation). The problem with this feeder location is that they're just silhouettes against my neighbor's house, but this bird twice came toward me as far as my deck railing to look me over and I'm 75% sure it's a Black-chinned. 🪶
May 23, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Finally seeing hummingbirds in my yard (eastern Oregon, 2700 feet in elevation). The problem with this feeder location is that they're just silhouettes against my neighbor's house, but this bird twice came toward me as far as my deck railing to look me over and I'm 75% sure it's a Black-chinned. 🪶
Anyone else watching season 11 of #Brokenwood? I think 10 years of making fun of Gina is enough. They should give her a hot new lover 20 years her junior who adores her quirkiness and, yes, wants to see the diseased liver.
April 29, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Anyone else watching season 11 of #Brokenwood? I think 10 years of making fun of Gina is enough. They should give her a hot new lover 20 years her junior who adores her quirkiness and, yes, wants to see the diseased liver.
Pine Siskin and Evening Grosbeak sharing a moment. Both are finches in the family Fringillidae. 🪶
![Tiny Pine Siskin and large Evening Grosbeak perching across from each other on a mesh feeder, showing the extreme size difference of these two finches (family Fringillidae). [Northeastern Oregon]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:rrgyq2iie2lfazknkameizrt/bafkreieolaf5mkhtnqdmgznhq6qsseaoe6rxon3bxatoerraqryccb4p6a@jpeg)
April 28, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Pine Siskin and Evening Grosbeak sharing a moment. Both are finches in the family Fringillidae. 🪶
Just a few more days of #FeederWatch, then most of my feeders will be put away until mid-October. Here are a female and male Lesser Goldfinch, the tiniest birds in my yard (northeastern Oregon) until hummingbirds show up. The juncos are long gone--haven't seen one in 10 days or more. 🪶
April 25, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Just a few more days of #FeederWatch, then most of my feeders will be put away until mid-October. Here are a female and male Lesser Goldfinch, the tiniest birds in my yard (northeastern Oregon) until hummingbirds show up. The juncos are long gone--haven't seen one in 10 days or more. 🪶
Today in La Grande, Oregon. Other towns in this region also had demonstrations.
April 5, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Today in La Grande, Oregon. Other towns in this region also had demonstrations.
The topside of the female House Finch looks pretty much like her underside--brown and streaky. Those seeds are safflower, a favorite of several species in winter, but much less so as we head into summer. 🪶
April 4, 2025 at 5:48 PM
The topside of the female House Finch looks pretty much like her underside--brown and streaky. Those seeds are safflower, a favorite of several species in winter, but much less so as we head into summer. 🪶
The tiniest winter birds at my feeders (northeastern OR) are the Lesser Goldfinches, smaller even than the Pine Siskins and American Goldfinches. Here are female LGs and a siskin, who kept its back to me. It was raining, but you gotta eat! 🪶
March 31, 2025 at 7:13 PM
The tiniest winter birds at my feeders (northeastern OR) are the Lesser Goldfinches, smaller even than the Pine Siskins and American Goldfinches. Here are female LGs and a siskin, who kept its back to me. It was raining, but you gotta eat! 🪶
I was livid at Chuck Schumer explaining that he talks to his GOP colleagues "at the gym." There are no old-boys-network solutions to our unfolding calamity.
March 17, 2025 at 5:26 PM
I was livid at Chuck Schumer explaining that he talks to his GOP colleagues "at the gym." There are no old-boys-network solutions to our unfolding calamity.
It's a constant battle to keep mammals away from the bird feeders! This bowl of sunflower seeds meant for the squirrels serves the mule deer just fine, lol. The smaller one on the right is a yearling buck and you can see the little lumps above his eyes where his first antlers are emerging. 💟 🪶
March 12, 2025 at 7:35 PM
It's a constant battle to keep mammals away from the bird feeders! This bowl of sunflower seeds meant for the squirrels serves the mule deer just fine, lol. The smaller one on the right is a yearling buck and you can see the little lumps above his eyes where his first antlers are emerging. 💟 🪶
A first for me: pic of a Northern Flicker and Downy Woodpecker (females) on the suet feeders at the same time. Because the downy is in the foreground, it looks larger than it really is. But knowing these feeders are five inches square provides a good sense of the size of these birds. 🪶
March 11, 2025 at 7:30 PM
A first for me: pic of a Northern Flicker and Downy Woodpecker (females) on the suet feeders at the same time. Because the downy is in the foreground, it looks larger than it really is. But knowing these feeders are five inches square provides a good sense of the size of these birds. 🪶