[obol] Parking Lot Birds--American Goldfinch

[sandyleapt at comcast.net]

Hi all.  I wanted to ask how people define parking lot birds.  Is this like a yard bird?  How big a parking lot does it have to be?   I had two experiences yesterday and want to know if they count.  I am on this topic because i can't bear to think of all the birds tossed and destroyed in the big storms at the coast.  The pelicans hit me particularly hard, I love their beauty and grace. Today  I am being an Ostrich with my head in the sand.

So, one parking lot experience yesterday happened because I was early for an appointment so I parked where I could watch a crabapple tree and some shore pines.  I saw a fat Robin, a number of Scrub Jays and, of all things, a Hutton's Vireo and a male Anna's Hummingbird This was around 1:30-2:00 p.m.  The parking lot is on "the South Shore" in Portland and has maybe 80 parking spaces.  Then, when walking to my car yesterday, I found an American Goldfinch nest.  I'm not sure found is the right word as the tree is small, leafless and planted in a narrow bed that divides the walk to the main entrance of the building I work in.  I noticed the landscape maintenance crew carefully pruned the tree to keep nest, but remove obstruction to pedestrians.  This summer I noticed American Goldfinches taking nesting material into that tree, but thought no, not a chance they will build there with all the foot traffic, and forgot about it.  I'm going to take pictures today, before some kid knocks the
 nest down.

Sandy Leaptrott
NE Portland