The nature of Cedar Mill
Harvest time
By Lauretta Young

It appears that, despite our very brief and wet spring, some of our crops in Cedar Mill are maturing. The non-native blackberries which encroach on most open areas are now ripening. I, like most of my neighbors, go to our many open spaces along the roads or under power lines to pick the bounty of the ripe black berries. The aroma of the black jewels is truly the essence of summer.

A family of California Quail visit a Cedar Mill hedgerow. Photo by Jeff Young

On one of my blackberry jaunts I flushed a large flock of California quail from under a thicket. I really am amazed at how they can navigate that thorny underbrush without getting tangled. Quail do like berries and they also like the ripening grains along the edges of the streams in our area. The quail appear to have done well, the youngsters are almost as big as the two parents and there are about 15 of them left. The average clutch size in this area is about 20 or so. Given that they have many predators including Cooper's and Sharp Shinned hawks, to have 15 left is a miracle.

My backyard apple tree is starting to drop fruit. The apples don't seem as large this year as I remember but they are plentiful and very tasty. Every year I resist the urge to be too neat and clean up all the fallen ones—many of our local bird species love to eat apples too. So save a few for the robins, the other thrushes and even the occasional visiting migrant on the way south. One year a group of brightly-colored Western Tanagers was having an apple feast for a few hours before heading south, so don't be overly tidy!

In some of our "hedgerow" areas around natural ponds or in untended areas, we have many native fruits such as various types of wild cherries and plums and fruiting vines and bushes. These attract and feed not only birds but other wildlife such as deer. Most gardeners abhor deer and some vineyard owners call them "rats with hooves," nevertheless my hope is that they might find the choke cherry out in the wetlands more attractive than my strawberries!

Cedar waxwings, Chickadees and Bushtits are all gathering now in the larger flocks in which they travel south. I have seen my wild rose bush with large red and orange hips full of Cedar Waxwings eating those vitamin C-infused fruits in flocks so large the bush seems alive with feathers.

Now is the time to enjoy the harvest and save some for our feathered friends who need some extra fuel to put on fat stores for their long journey to their winter homes.

Lauretta Young is the owner of Portland Birdwatching.com and she takes birders on customized trips in Cedar Mill and beyond. See her web site at www.portlandbirdwatching.com for more pictures!

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