March is often described as a month that begins as one season and ends as another. In most places in the county, that's probably true. The clock out here, however, is turned forward about two weeks, so we're into full-blown spring by mid-March. And when mid-April rolls around, well, it's pretty much summer already. The flowers are in full bloom, mates have been chosen, and the large flocks that used the visit the feeders have moved on. But this time of the year still keeps thing interesting by bringing migrants to the yard.
While natural food sources tend to replace bird seed and suet at this time of the year, sugar-water is still all the rage for hummers. These energy-inefficient little gems don't care how they get their carbs. And hummers appear to really like our new yard. We've been hosting at least five different Anna's and Rufous Hummingbirds (above) and it seems that at least one of them is here constantly. They constantly fight over the main nectar feeder (the one on the other side of the house is mostly ignored for some strange reason) and the flowers along the fence, but seem to be at least moderately tolerant of each other so far.
Sometimes, a migrant that you expect to see briefly ends up hanging around for a while. And that's certainly been the case with the Orange-crowned Warbler (above), first seen in the yard on March 26. Since that date, one has been observed every day, and up to two have been spotted foraging through the flowering trees and bushes at a time. I'm not sure how long this will continue, but it's certainly nice. I'm used to seeing OC Warblers for a couple days in early/mid-April and then not again until the following April. We've been quite lucky this spring.
A female Spotted Towhee probes for stray seed.
The bird bath becomes more popular as rainfall decreases. This migrating White-crowned Sparrow...
...and this Golden-crowned Sparrow are happy to take advantage.
We had a recent uptick of wintering sparrows (above), who were undoubtedly on their way into the hills to breed. It's somewhat sad to see them go, but they'll be back in October. Thankfully, we've also seen an increase in Spotted Towhees (above), who inhabit the Valley year-round and are very compatible with our brush-heavy landscaping. It would be nice to see more of these native species, and hopefully this is the beginning.
And I would be remiss to not mention the most important part of this season: breeding. Our House Finches and Chickadees have been singing for weeks, and are now beginning to pair up. I hung a nesting box under the awning near the little-used front door. I figured that a House Wren would probably be game, but that it may be too close to the house for Chickadees or Nuthatches. I decided to line it with wood chips anyway (which fool the latter two species into thinking that it was naturally-drilled by a woodpecker). And Chickadees have been checking it out over the past few weeks. No nesting-building yet, so we'll see what happens.
A Black-capped Chickadee probes tree buds for insects.
A male Rufous Hummingbird comes in for a landing.
Well, that's it for now. Hopefully a Black-headed Grosbeak or Wilson's Warbler report will be in the next installment. I'll leave you with my end-of-the-year FeederWatch tally. Not bad for a brand new site...
Migrants have finally made their way into town, and brought some beautiful (albeit brief) weather along with them. This typically-exciting time of the year has not disappointed.
Rufous Hummingbirds (above) typically arrive on the Oregon coast in late February, reaching the Valley in early March. Males typically arrive first, followed closely by females. We've seen them in the yard as early as the first week of March, but this is highly variable. Our first yard Rufous was spotted on the 19th, and both sexes have been visiting both the nectar feeder and the flowering bushes regularly since. Anna's Hummingbirds are still around occasionally visit the nectar feeder, but are busy nesting for the most part. In general, March-May is a great time period for Rufous Hummers and I hope to procure several more photos over the next two months.
While certain species are expected during migration, it often brings pleasant surprises as well. And this Spring did not disappoint. On Saturday, we hosted a Chipping Sparrow (above), a new yard species. I have read reports of others in the area, and get the feeling that (1) they're not typical in other people's yards either and (2) their migration is unusually-concentrated in this area this year. I have not seen this individual (or any other) since, and am therefore glad to have snapped a few decent pics.
In other migration news, this past Friday morning brought our first-of-the-year Orange-crowned Warbler. This individual has been foraging through our bushes and our neighbor's apple tree every day since. I was somewhat surprised to see one this early. I typically do not see them until early- or mid-April, but late March is well within their normal arrival time. I suppose that we got lucky this year. We have gotten lucky with winter sparrows again, at least in the short-term. On Saturday a White-crowned Sparrow visited our yard (the first in over three weeks). We have also picked up an additional Golden-crowned Sparrow.
An Orange-crowned Warbler forages through one of our many bushes.
A Golden-crowned Sparrow enjoys a pleasant Saturday afternoon.
The White-crowned Sparrow returns!
And like every action, there is a reaction. When summer hummingbirds, sparrows, and warblers arrive, winter residents like Juncos begin to file out. Over the winter, we'd typically host 7-12 at at time. At this point, it's difficult to find more than 3 or 4 foraging through the yard at a time. Our two Yellow-rumped Warblers have also been visiting the yard less frequently, presumably due to increased natural food sources. Most of our American Goldfinches have molted into summer plumage at this point as well.
A male American Goldfinch in his Summer Best.
Female American Goldfinches are also busy molting.
In other news, Pine Siskins and Lesser Goldfinches have been making occasional visits. The (adult female?) Cooper's Hawk that took out our injured Scrub-Jay has been visiting occasionally as well. Our friendly male Red-winged Blackbird has been stopping in every now and again, but we have not seen a Spotted Towhee in some time. Downy Woodpeckers have picked up in number recently, while Northern Flickers have dropped off (heading up into the hills to breed?).
A Lesser Goldfinch (right) stops in for a bite...
... and a Pine Siskin joins in the fun as well.
A Downy Woodpecker energizes on a cold morning.
We should be seeing more migrants soon, culminating in Wilson's Warblers and Black-headed Grosbeaks in early May. In the meantime, we may see more migrating sparrows (Fox and Lincoln's), wrens, and Cassin's Vireos. We're definitely looking forward to the next two months.
Old Man Winter appears to have finally bitten the dust. Outside of the occasional very light frost, it's definitely Spring now. And with early Spring comes all sort of fun migration and movement.
One of the most obvious change-of-the-season signs is the molt of the American Goldfinch male from drab yellow/brown to bright yellow, with black cap to boot (above). The females also molt to a less brown hue, but this is less easily recognizable. In addition, our Yellow-rumped Warblers have also been molting into breeding plumage. Two are regularly present now. While some species become more numerous at this time, many exhibit the opposite behavior. Bushtits have decreased their flock size (from 15+ to 4-7) and Anna's Hummers are near-sparse at this point, indicating that they're pairing up for breeding. Our trust White-crowned Sparrow, present every day from early December, has been a no-show since the beginning of the month, indicating that he/she has moved on to breed elsewhere. Dark-eyed Juncos are still present in respectable numbers (5-7 at a time), but definitely lower than what we saw in November-January. They'll slowly trickle away and will be mostly gone at the end of April.
A male Dark-eyed Junco enjoys some peanuts. If they like what you're feeding, Juncos will gladly eat above ground.
One of the last photos of our winter resident White-crowned Sparrow.
A male Yellow-rumped Warbler molting into breeding plumage.
A male House Finch relaxes in between trips to the sunflower feeder.
A Bushtit with pollen all over its face.
In addition to the change-of-the-season fun, we've hosted a number of unusual native-winter species as well. This past Saturday afforded both a Cooper's and a Sharp-shinned Hawk in a 7-hour period! They were most likely attracted to the bustling goldfinch activity, and almost certainly our excess of diseased House Finches (which they've done a great job of ridding us of). Over the past couple of weeks, we've had multiple visits from a male Red-winged Blackbird and at least two different Spotted Towhees. Neither are "regular" visitors, but you can count on seeing them at least once a week. A lone Pine Siskin also showed up with a flock of ~20 goldfinches last weekend.
An adult Sharp-shinned Hawk waits patiently for a meal.
A Red-winged Blackbird feeds on sunflower seed in the morning fog.
A Pine Siskin dines with a flock of American Goldfinches.
That's about it for now. We're still waiting on our first Rufous Hummingbird and a possible Purple Finch or two. We'll see what the latter half of March brings...
Well, the seasons they are a' changin' again. The sun is still above the horizon at 5:30 pm, temperatures hit 60 degrees twice last week, and some of our feathered friends are looking a bit different.
One of the first signs of Spring is the molt of the male American Goldfinch, transitioning from its drab yellow/brown/green winter colors to its well-known bright yellow and black cap. The one pictured above, taken over President's Day weekend, was the only obvious case. Today, there are at least three males that are this far advanced in their molt. One of our two Yellow-rumped Warblers has now revealed itself to be a male (it's difficult to distinguish gender in winter plumage). The stronger gray plumage (below) can be compared to the tan/brown winter plumage.
Yellow-rumped Warblers. Top: A male in breeding plumage. Bottom: A winter plumage individual.As Spring approaches, early movement also brings new species to the yard. We were pleasantly surprised to see a female Spotted Towhee (below) foraging for seed among the rhododendron bushes. Having lots of brush cover around the yard (and the ground feeder), I'm somewhat surprised that it took this long for one to show up! But late is better than never, and we feel fortunate to host what we do.
As discussed previously, diseased House Finches (avian pox, conjunctivitis, salmonella, you name it) have been a problem this winter. At one point, we were hosting approximately six diseased individuals. Thankfully, the disease has not appear to spread much (no other species with pox or conjunctivitis have been seen). And, as mentioned two posts ago, predators have been taking out the diseased birds. Two of the more sickly House Finches are gone and I don't believe that I've seen more than two diseased birds at the same time for a couple of weeks now. An individual suffering from the worst case of avian pox that I've ever seen was put out of its misery by a Sharp-shinned Hawk just a week and a half ago. Fortunately, this problem appears to be working itself out.
A female House Finch with a horrible case of avian pox on the eye. She was mercifully put out of her misery by an immature Sharp-shinned Hawk (below) the day after this photo was taken.
(Burp!)
A Robin enjoys a sunny Friday afternoon (yes, I've moved the lawn since).
Despite the changing seasons, they're changing slowly and it's still February. Therefore, our winter "usual suspects" are still around, including our many Dark-eyed Juncos, our two Golden-crowned Sparrows, and our loyal White-crowned Sparrow. After nearly disappearing for over a warmer-than-usual week, our flocks of 15+ Bushtits are back. Other regulars include Scrub Jays, Black-capped Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches, and of course the ever-present Anna's Hummingbirds. Our two species of woodpecker (Northern Flicker and Downy Woodpecker) are still semi-regulars.
A White-crowned Sparrow feeds on spilled sunflower seed on the back deck.
A Golden-crowned Sparrow forages for seed.
More to come in a couple of weeks, when I should (hopefully) have a report of the first Rufous Hummingbird of the year. Laters.
Work has been killing me over the past few weeks, with much traveling and little sleep. But I have managed to look out the window a few times since mid-January and am happy to report an increase in American Goldfinches, Bushtits, and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. And for the first time since September, Pine Siskins (below) have graced us with their presence. Two were spotted and photographed at the sunflower feeder this morning.
Other than that, it's pretty much more of the same. I have a Super Bowl to watch in an hour and a half (Go Colts!) and will be busy with work again at the crack of dawn on Monday. So instead of being wordy, I'll just leave you with some recent photos...
A White-crowned Sparrow feeds on sunflower seed.
Western Scrub-Jays continue to visit the yard for peanuts and cracked corn.
American Goldfinch numbers are up (to 20-30 at a time) and some are even beginning to molt. (Note the dark spot on the crown of the bird on the left perch.)
Our resident Yellow-rumped Warbler continues to make the rounds.
A Red-breasted Nuthatch, traveling with a flock of Bushtits, visits the suet feeder.
One of two Black-capped Chickadees stops in for a peanut.
Here is a summary of what I've been counting for FeederWatch recently. I can't say that I'm disappointed, given that we've only been feeding here for three months.
(Click chart to enlarge)
Until next time, when I promise that I'll be a little more wordy...
Lots of new and interesting visitors over the past two weeks, including a peek at the avian food chain...
Hosting an injured bird is always bittersweet. On one hand, you feel sorry for the poor fellow. On the other hand, you feel good that you're able to help prolong the life of an injured creature. But then you get that sinking feeling that it's on borrowed time, and that the other shoe could drop at any second. It's an awkward situation. A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a Scrub-Jay that looked like it was going through some sort of extreme molt. Something was up with its primaries and secondaries (outer wing feathers). Closer inspection showed evidence of a wound, so it's likely that this bird was a victim of predation (most likely from a cat). The jay could fly, but barely, and spent most of its time hopping along our fence, which it used as a springboard to the neighbor's apple tree, where it often roosted. It primarily fed off of cracked corn at our ground feeder.
Late yesterday morning, I noticed a very large figure looming against the gray sky, near the top of the apple tree. My binoculars revealed an adult Cooper's Hawk (above). Surprisingly, after all of the other birds scattered, the injured jay sat perched a few feet below in the same tree. It eventually made an awkward dart for another neighbor's bushes and the hawk followed. After curiously staring into the bushes for a minute, it went in. A few minutes later, the hawk flew across the yard with a large blue and gray mass in its talons. It was somewhat sad to see our jay go, as I had grown fond of him/her out of pity. But at least its demised helped support another bird higher up on the food chain.
Our injured Scrub-Jay (note the injured wing). R.I.P.
A Red-winged Blackbird stops in on a rainy day.
A female/first-year male Purple Finch (background) and female House Finch (foreground).We've been treated to a couple of new visitors lately. A first-time yard visitor for us out on the West Coast arrived earlier in the week: a male Red-winged Blackbird. They tend to prefer marsh area, although they'll wander a bit in the winter and are actually relatively common in the winter/spring in the Eastern half of the country. A couple of days later, we were treated to our first Purple Finch at our new residence. This female/first-year male (they look extremely similar) was around for about 10-15 minutes before flying off. We also began hosting Downy Woodpeckers not long ago and they have become relatively regular since then. In addition, an occasional Ruby-crowned Kinglet has been seen poking around.
It's nice to see Downies again!
One of two regular Northern Flickers.
Well, that's about it for now. I'm going to be crazy-busy for the next few weeks, so this will have to suffice until then. See you next month.
