[obol] New Yard Bird and Band-Tailed Pigeons

[bettyehunt at aol.com]

Yesterday (05/01/07) morning I was heading back to the house from the barn when I saw a "pair" of ducks on the wing.  Without my specs or bins, I could only tell that they were NOT Mallards. Ring-Necks, Mergansers and a few others that just didn't seem right.  I expected them to take off for the bay or to the north, but they flew into the trees on the north of the property and landed about 50'-60' up!  I'm sure you all know by now what they were, but I was perplexed.  In fact, I was mentally composing this posting on the way back to the house.  I picked up my "eyes" and went back out to see if the birds were still there; sure enough, a male Wood Duck sitting way up there parallel to the branch and looking, well, very ducky!  I was unable to locate the other bird, but am guessing (hoping) it was a female.  Our property goes all the way down to the water, but the nearest trees of any size are about 50' away from the water.  Does anyone know how far from open water a nest box can be for these birds to take up residence?
 
On the Band-Tailed Pigeons:  I thought I'd max'd out yesterday at about 35, but there were 50-plus feeding in my yard today.  Do I stand a chance of creating a nuisance by continuing to feed them?  The most I've had in past years is about a dozen.  Is this a strange year (I'm relatively new to Oregon)?
 
Bettye
Waldport
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