And... we're back. We are now officially moved in and have been keeping and eye on the backyard for a full week now. Due to the fact that I set up feeders at the beginning of the month, we're almost in mid-season form already. After living here for just one week, the yard list has already impressed me.
When we first looked at this house, I strongly suspected that the ample shrub cover along the backyard fence would be good sparrow habitat. And I was right. Dark-eyed Juncos were conspicuous and numerous before I even put up the feeders. The day that we moved in, I caught a brief glimpse of what appeared to be a large, plump sparrow. The next morning, we were treated to not one, but two Golden-crowned Sparrows. Golden-crowns are regular winter migrants here in the Willamette Valley, although I saw them very infrequently at our previous residence (apparently more shrub cover really helps). Three days later, I caught another brief glimpse of what appeared to be a White-crowned Sparrow, another relatively common winter migrant. But upon second look, the distinctive yellow coloring in the supraloral region and large white patch on the throat revealed it to be a White-throated Sparrow. This was quite a surprise. White-throated Sparrows are common winter visitors in the Eastern half of the country, and they do reside on the West Coast as well. However, they're less numerous out here and are more highly concentrated on the coast (we're ~50 miles inland). Birds of Lane County Oregon characterizes White-throated Sparrows as an "uncommon to rare migrant and winter resident." At the very least, I wouldn't expect to see them in my backyard. Not surprisingly, there have been other reported sightings in the state and at least one prominent local ornithologist believes that this is a "peak" year for White-throated Sparrows in Oregon.
A White-throated Sparrow feeds on scattered millet and cracked corn.
A Golden-crowned Sparrow and a Dark-eyed Junco dine on dry seed.
While I figured that we'd feed a good showing of sparrows, I wasn't sure about the other species. Going from a yard with over a dozen mature pine and oak trees to one with none, but a neighbor with a couple of large birches, an apple tree, and a spruce in the other neighbor's yard is obviously going to affect which species visit. Thankfully, many familiar species have found us. The most prevalent are American Goldfinches and House Finches, who prefer less trees anyway. Some more exotic suburban-friendly birds that are representing here include Anna's Hummingbirds and Yellow-rumped Warblers. Interestingly, we're hosting more of the latter here than at our previous residence. We're also fortunate to host both subspecies of Yellow-rumped Warbler. A population of the "Myrtle" (white-throated) subspecies that is prevalent in the Eastern half of the country winters on the coast in appreciable numbers, and many move inward into the valley. Our regular Western "Audubon's (yellow-throated) subspecies - which is actually less prevalent that the Myrtles in the winter for some strange reason - is also representing. They spend as much time chasing each other from the suet feeders as they do feeding.
A "Myrtle" Yellow-rumped Warbler. Note the white throat.
An "Audubon's" Yellow-rumped Warbler. Note the yellow throat.
A female Anna's Hummingbird sips sugar-water in the rain.
House Finches gobble down sunflower seed.
Other regulars from the previous residence include Red-breasted Nuthatches (one of my favorites), Black-capped Chickadees, Western Scrub-Jays, and perhaps the signature bird of the Pacific Northwest - the American Crow. Kinglets (both Ruby- and Golden-crowned) have also visited briefly within the past week. The presence of the latter what somewhat surprising, as they're typically associated with conifers. And since we're in a more open area, I wasn't shocked to see a greater showing of House Sparrows and Starlings. Thankfully, they're in relatively small numbers right now (knock on wood). We have yet to see any woodpeckers, though. I thought that we might see a Downy by now, but I'm sure that it's just a matter of time. We may or may not host Flickers here - only time will tell. However, I'm pretty sure that the days of my occasional winter glimpse of a Red-breasted Sapsucker from my window are over.We also have a nice showing of Fox Squirrels. I've counted seven individuals, including a number of juveniles. One of them tried to jump through our kitchen window earlier in the week. Squirrels never cease to entertain me.
A juvenile Fox Squirrel ponders ways to get into the house.
I'll close with a summary of the largest number of each species seen at one time over the past week. I'm pretty happy with this list...
Anna's Hummingbird - 2
Western Scrub-Jay - 3
American Crow - 1
Black-capped Chickadee - 2
Bushtit - 6
Red-breasted Nuthatch - 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1
American Robin - 1
European Starling - 1
"Myrtle" Yellow-rumped Warbler - 1
"Audubon's" Yellow-rumped Warbler - 1
White-throated Sparrow - 1
Golden-crowned Sparrow - 2
Dark-eyed Junco - 12
House Finch - 6
Lesser Goldfinch - 1
American Goldfinch - 15
House Sparrow - 1
Until next time...
In the first half of October, we were greeted with an exciting array of fall migrants (due in part to an unseasonably early cold spell that sent them fleeing from the hills). The second half of the month saw a sustained presence of many of these species (particularly kinglets), plus very visible local movement of year-round species. In short, it's been a great month.
A sure sign of fall for those of us in the northern half of the country is the first Dark-eyed Junco (above), typically arriving in October. While we've been fortunate enough to host at least one breeding pair of juncos over each of the last two summers, their numbers were always low at the time (2-3 adults, plus a couple of juveniles). We began to see their numbers uptick during the first weekend of October, and they're out in full winter force now (10-15 at a time, sometimes 
more). Another feeder winter feeder regular, the House Finch, is also representing in higher numbers now (usually at least three at a time). And speaking of finches, the annual American Goldfinch Invasion (left) that typically goes from early/mid-September through mid-October has carried on a little longer than usual. Their numbers typically max out at the end of September and gradually fall back to "normal" levels by the end of October. However, a record 120 at a time showed up at the feeders last Sunday afternoon, and I'm still seeing 20-30 at a time this weekend. I thought that my wallet would be spared by now, but apparently not. Other regulars spending increased time at the feeders include Western Scrub-Jays, Downy Woodpeckers, and (occasionally) Bushtits. While first spotted in the yard a good 2-3 weeks ago, both species of kinglet (Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned) have been regulars in the yard for the past 2-3 weeks. Both have been seen foraging through the large pine trees along the driveway, and the former species was foraging through our Rhododendron bushes this morning for insects. I had the opportunity to get a shot of a Golden-crowned Kinglet last weekend, but my focusing was too slow. I've been trying to get a nice photo of one for the past 2 1/2 years, but they continue to elude me.
A Ruby-crowned Kinglet forages for small insects in the Rhododendron bushes.
Last weekend was unique in that yard activity was abundant, but with year-round species. Small flocks of Cedar Waxwings (10+), Northern Flickers (2+), Robins (6+), and Starlings (5+) decided to congregate in our immediate neighborhood and the former three even stopped by briefly (how lucky we were to avoid the Starlings this time). This was not terribly surprising, though, as this is the time of year that many species begin to search for food sources in flocks. I was even able to get my first semi-decent Waxwing close-up photo.
A Cedar Waxwing checks out a tree in our yard.
A hatch-year Robin sticks out its chest like a tough guy.
Two species of sparrows also decided to visit recently. The first is the Golden-crowned Sparrow, which winters here in the valley and visits irregularly in the winter and early spring. I wasn't expecting one this early, but they regularly visit other feeders in town in October, so it's not surprising at all. My experience with Golden-crowned sparrows is that they're rather nomadic and they typically visit the yard from anywhere from a day to a week, but seldom for much longer. Thus, it hasn't exactly been a shocker that I haven't seen this one since last Sunday. Slightly more regular in the winter (but far from a lock to hang around) is the Song Sparrow. One made an appearance late Friday afternoon, and this individual is (surprisingly) the first I've seen here since January. Who knows how long this one will stay. Two Western Screech-owls were heard calling from the trees along our driveway and across the street earlier last week. And just this morning, a Brown Creeper was foraging through the pines along the driveway. It's been a very exciting month.
A winter plumage Golden-crowned Sparrow forages for seed along our mossy front door step.
This Song Sparrow spent several minutes surveying our and our neighbor's yards from atop the fence.
So, with all of this new activity, some of you may be wondering why it's "closing time." Well, due to a number of factors (including a lack of space, soon-to-be-exacerbated by the arrival of our first child), the wife and I decided that it was time to move into a larger place. So we will be transitioning our feeding operations (and, of course, all of our other belongings) over to a larger house a few miles away in a couple of weeks. Here are a few photos...
The well-manicured front yard. I'm going to need to invest in hedge trimmers.
View of the backyard from the back deck. I've always wanted a tool shed.
View from the far side of the backyard. The plant trestle on the deck will come in handy. As will the sliding glass door, the other side of which will be our future home office space.
We moved a few things over this afternoon, including four feeders. The abundance of wildlife activity observed in the two hours that we were there left me feeling very optimistic. Fox squirrels scurried about. Dark-eyed Juncos probed the bushes for insects. Small flocks of Cedar Waxwings and American Goldfinches flew overhead. A male Anna's Hummingbird found the nectar feeder just 10 minutes after I put it up. I think that we'll be happy here. (It'll also be nice to actually have enough place to put all of our stuff!)
October is known for being a month that starts as one season and ends as another. This year, however, October began with a cold blast of winter weather and it's been relatively cool, overcast, and rainy since. As described in the previous post, this sudden cold snap brought a wave of early winter migrants. Not only have these migrants decided to hang around, but others have joined them.
You know that winter is approaching when the flocks of Juncos return. While our neighborhood was fortunate enough to host a pair of Juncos this summer (who, ironically enough, raised two Brown-headed Cowbirds in addition to two of their own), the local summer Juncos were the only yard visitors up until recently. This weekend, I counted 10 eating millet off of the driveway and at the ground feeder. Interestingly, this included a Slate-colored subspecies (above). Slate-colored Juncos are the predominant subspecies east of the Rockies, but we typically host one or two every winter. As you can see in the photo above, the wings have a hint of buff coloring, suggesting that it may have some Oregon subspecies blood.
Two weeks ago, I was scanning the pines along my driveway for a Yellow-rumped Warbler that I had seen previously that morning. I was literally *shocked* to catch a split-second glimpse of a Townsend's Warbler. I typically don't see them in the yard until around Thanksgiving, and sometimes not until January. Early October was unheard of! This past weekend, a female Townsend's (above) was foraging through those same trees and even came up close to the living room window. (Of course, I managed to be a butterfingers with the camera, so you're stuck with the bad photo of it in the far-away tree.) Also flying into the tree near the living room window was another shocker: a Golden-crowned Kinglet. GC Kinglets aren't feeder birds, but they tend to move around a lot in the early winter and I typically see them in the yard a couple of times in November or December. But never October. And, of course, I was all thumbs with the camera, so I wasn't able to get a shot. The closely-related Ruby-crowned Kinglet was foraging through the pines again on Saturday afternoon and another Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's subspecies) was in the yard the previous weekend.
Oregon subspecies Dark-eyed Junco. The flocks are back!
White-breasted Nuthatches continue to occasionally visit.
American Goldfinches: Still flocking and eating, although in lesser numbers.
Our non-migratory species of recent interest include the White-breasted Nuthatches that continue to stop by for food and water. I'm pretty sure that there's both a male and a female in the neighborhood. Interestingly, they do a good job of finding stray black oil sunflower seed on the ground, but still haven't figured out the concept of the bird feeder. Red-breasted Nuthatches (left) Black-capped Chickadees, and Downy Woodpeckers are representing in strong numbers. Bushtits are present (though not every day) and Chestnut-backed Chickadees appear to be in their "normal" winter numbers. Interestingly, I haven't seen a Northern Flicker in at least a couple of weeks. American Goldfinches were flocking in numbers near 100 a couple of weeks ago, but those numbers of dropped down to ~40 or so at a time. Lesser Goldfinches are in much smaller numbers (1-4 at a time, max) and I haven't seen a Pine Siskin in over a month. (Incidentally, if you live in the Eastern half of the U.S., Siskins are not predicted to irrupt this year.) I'm still hoping to see a Purple Finch, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Song Sparrow, or Fox Sparrow. And, hey, it would be great to see a small flock of Evening Grosbeaks or Red Crossbills, but I'm not holding my breath!
A really bad photo of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet in the rain. You'll just have to take my word for it.
As the weather gets colder and rainier, we should start to see more activity. Hopefully I'll have some more stories (and better photos) to share next month.
Apologies for failing to post last month. I was busy with work-related material, on vacation for a while, and then contracted a really nasty two-week-long sinus cold that I'm just now getting over. Thankfully, not much has happened since late August, with the obvious exception of the typical fall American Goldfinch flocking. Now that the seasons are changing, things are beginning to pick up.
A sign of Autumn: American Goldfinches picking apart sunflower heads.As usual, large flocks of American Goldfinches have dominated the yard for the past few weeks. I've spent over $100 on nyjer seed and sunflower chips since the beginning of September and counted at least 80 of these little piggies yesterday afternoon (and this was a conservative estimate). They were literally "dripping" from the trees. The flocks will begin to disperse over the next week or so, and the numbers should be back to normal by the end of the month. I really need to clean up all of the spilled seed and finch droppings soon, but I suppose that it can wait until later in the week.
Some of the 80+ American Goldfinches in the yard yesterday.
On a down note, lots of flocking birds near windows usually translates into window collisions. And unfortunately, three of these were fatal. Not surprisingly, two of the victims were goldfinches. One of them may have recovered on its own, but a small raptor swooped in and made off with it. It's amazing how quickly they find prey, nab it, and then dart off. Somewhat surprising is that the third fatality was a Red-breasted Nuthatch, as nuthatches are typically pretty good at avoiding windows.
And speaking of nuthatches, we've been treated to FOUR White-breasted Nuthatch sightings since early August. WB Nuthatches aren't especially prevalent here in the Willamette Valley (mostly due to the clearing of the large oak groves for farmland), and are even more rare here in the city. The one(s) seen recently have been visiting the bird baths and eating sunflower seed (shown above). This is in stark contrast to the individual(s) seen a few times during the winter of '06/'07, which ignored the feeders.
One of the many Red-breasted Nuthatches that visit the feeders daily.
This weekend has brought an insane number of migrants. The first Ruby-crowned Kinglet of the season, as well as the first Yellow-rumped Warblers (both Myrtle and Audubon's subspecies) showed up this weekend. Amazingly, the first-of-the-season Townsend's Warbler was observed just a few minutes ago. This is very early, with our previous yard record being 11/22/07. The current cold spell (highs in the upper-50's and lows in the mid/upper 30's) is obviously playing a part in this early movement. A Steller's Jay was also seen at one of the bird baths approximately two weeks ago. The large flocks of Juncos haven't arrived yet, but the same pair that bred locally this summer is still around. I have also not seen a Pine Siskin for almost a month, but that should change soon as well. Downy Woodpeckers are still in high abundance, with Northern Flickers having declined somewhat over the past few weeks.
Well, that's about all for now. Being in an obvious transition period, I hope to have a lot more to report over the next couple of weeks. This could include a small flock of Siskins, one of the wintering species of sparrow (White-crowned, Golden-crowned, or Fox), or a couple of Purple Finches.
This August continues to surprise and excite. Normally a veritable snoozer of a month, our yard has been bustling with activity over the past few weeks.
The big story has been the persistence of Black-headed Grosbeaks (above) at the sunflower feeders. They stop off here for a snack during migration at least once every May and August. However, multiple visits during these months are infrequent. We hosted several individuals for a week in May of 2008, and have never experienced multiple visits in August before. This year has been drastically different. Only one May visitor was recorded, but I have seen individuals at least once a week from July 28 through this morning. All visitors were either females or hatch-year juveniles (their plumage is almost identical). Black-headed Grosbeaks are incredibly shy at first, fleeing at the hint of movement (or glare from my telephoto lens), so my success in photographing them has been limited. However, they become accustomed to humans after a few visits. The fact that I've managed to scare off the majority of those that I've seen suggests that several different individuals have come through, and that they're not sticking around for long. I don't suspect that they'll be coming through for much longer, but what a ride it's been so far.
A female Rufous Hummingbird guards the backyard nectar feeder.
A juvenile male Rufous Hummer guards the same feeder from atop a rose tree. Competition for this food source between several Rufous and Anna's Hummingbirds has been very high.
Rufous Hummingbirds are also representing in unusually high numbers. They typically arrive in early-to-mid March, hang around until May, disappear in June (apparently they don't nest locally), return in July, and are gone by the end of September. I began noticing more than usual last month. They've moved on since then (the males migrate ahead of the females and hatch-years) and we've since been inundated with females and juveniles. In conjunction with the Anna's Hummers, they managed to drink down four cups of sugar-water last week. And over this time, they've been vehemently attempting to establish control our two sugar-water feeders. Watching them chase each other around has been entertaining. Their activity has waned somewhat over the past week, indicating that some of the Rufous Hummers have moved southward. But plenty remain and will be entertaining us for the next few weeks.
I had been waiting around for the past month to see Western Scrub-Jay fledglings, and was finally rewarded today. At least two extremely loud hatchlings stopped by this morning with their parents. It was quite a sight. Oh, and did I mention that they were extremely loud? Those crazy jays. While I've been paying much attention to our neighborhood's offspring Dark-eyed Juncos and their Brown-headed Cowbird "brothers" (two of each now, see the previous post for details), I just recently noticed that the adult Juncos are going through their Fall molt. One male is currently missing his upper tail feathers. Yep, the seasons are a' changin'.
A juvenile Western Scrub-Jay ponders its suet feeder perching strategy.
A molting adult Dark-eyed Junco
Lesser Goldfinches (left) are all over the place right now. This was somewhat unexpected, as finches in general typically don't flock until mid-September. But I've heard reports of higher-than-usual numbers of Lesser Goldfinches in Western Oregon and Southwest Washington, so it appears to be a regional phenomenon. Today's tally of 24 was a record for August (the previous high of 15 was established two years ago). Finches are highly unpredictable and it'll be interesting to see what happens later this year. I'm currently seeing about 3-6 American Goldfinches at a time, which is about normal for this time of the summer (these numbers will increase to 30-60 at this time next month). Pine Siskins are scarce right now, although that's about par for the course for August as well. Their numbers tend to uptick in October. Interestingly, I've read recent reports of unusually high numbers of Evening Grosbeaks in the Coastal Range. Since a large number of them move to the valley floor for the winter, some are predicting a large winter irruption. This would be great, as I'm still waiting (patiently) to check them off of my yard list.
American Goldfinches: More on the way soon.
Next month is shaping up to be very busy and exciting. Unfortunately, I'll be crazy-busy with work as well, but promise to find the time to share updates.
Late July and early August is typically one of the least exiciting times of the backyard bird-watching year. The breeding season is over for most species and most fledglings are becoming self-sufficient. Natural food sources are in high abundance, so birds' reliance on feeders is minimal. In addition, it's too early for migration or post-breeding flocking, so the number and diversity of birds in the yard is also minimal. Given all of this, I've been very pleased with what I've seen over the past few weeks. With the help of a recent heat wave, yard activity has far exceeded my expectations.
A fledgling Dark-eyed Junco forages for seed with its father on a warm August morning
Last summer, we were graced with the presence of fledgling Dark-eyed Juncos. Juncos do breed here in the valley, but only in small numbers. It was nice to see that at least one pair decided to breed in our neighborhood again this summer. But I was literally shocked to see an adult Junco stuffing Nyjger seed down the throat of what at first appeared to be a large, plump juvenile finch. After a second, it dawned on me that the "finch" was actually a fledgling Brown-headed Cowbird. I had never witnessed cowbird parasitism before. Cowbirds are the only birds that lay their eggs in the nests of other species (warbler nests are frequent targets). The host species then (usually) raise the cowbirds as their own. While cowbirds aren't exactly my favorite species, I still found this incredibly interesting and exciting. A second fledgling cowbird made an appearance in our yard last week and both are now regulars in the yard.
A Dark-eyed Junco feeds a fledgling Brown-headed Cowbird.
A heat wave descended on Western Oregon a week and a half ago, sending temperatures into the low-mid 100's (it was 101, 105, and 106 at the beginning of the last week of August), and temperatures hung in the low/mid '90s for the next week. Not surprisingly, this meant that the bird baths were in almost constant use. Black-capped Chickadees have been a fixture at the baths, as have Red-breasted Nuthatches, both species of goldfinch and their young, House Finches, Western Scrub-Jays, and Downy Woodpeckers.
There are also signs of post-breeding local movements. A Black-headed Grosbeak visited one of the sunflower feeders early one morning during the heat wave. It is possible that this individual was fattening up before its migration. Just yesterday, the first White-breasted Nuthatch in over two years visited our shaded bird bath. It is possible that the unusually dry conditions forced him to look for water somewhere outside of his breeding territory. Bushtits are flocking in numbers of 15+ again. This is somewhat unusual, as the larger numbers are typically not seen until late September. Male Rufous Hummingbirds have dwindled somewhat in number over the past week (undoubtedly headed South) and have been replaced by females and juveniles. They and the Anna's are constantly fighting over the nectar feeders. Lesser Goldfinches have already increased in number and are eating more than their share of Nyjer and sunflower. It's just a matter of time before the American Goldfinches and Pine Siskins begin to flock as well.
A male Anna's Hummingbird tries to cool off in the 100-degree shade on an August evening
A fledgling American Goldfinch bathes on a sunny afternoon, as a Lesser Goldfinch watches
An unusual White-breasted Nuthatch stops in for a drink
A juvenile House Finch munches on sunflower seed
Despite the fact that we're still in early August, we've definitely passed the apex of summer. American Goldfinches are already beginning to molt (below) and it's just a matter of time before more migrants pass through and the flocking begins.
