Oktoberfest

Like the Germans consuming massive amounts of food and drink in late September/early October, our yard has become a veritable Oktoberfest over the past week. Both neotropical migrants and locals moving out of their breeding areas have inundated the yard. This is easily the most lively early Fall I've ever witnessed.



To underscore the awesomeness of the past week, the Evening Grosbeak (above) - a bird that I've hosted for a grand total of one day since the mid-1980s - has visited my yard for two consecutive days now. And they've visited at least four times today. Wow.


Adult female (left) and hatch-year Evening Grosbeaks enjoy sunflower seed.

Another one of our irregular natives has also made a big splash recently. Cedar Waxwings breed in our neighborhood and can be found in small numbers here and there in the summer. But they flock in the late summer, right around the time that our neighbor's apple tree offers ripe fruit. A flock of ~10-15 have been visiting the apple tree several time per day since Friday. In contrast, Purple Finches head deep into the forests to breed and stray into less wooded (sometimes urban) areas afterwards. I typically don't see them until mid-October (if at all in the Fall... they're more conspicuous in March/April), so I was pleasantly surprised to see a female/juvenile at our feeders last weekend. A mature male was spotted this afternoon. Another forest-breeder/yard-feeder species, the Pine Siskin, has returned as well. Two began joining our flocks of 40+ American Goldfinches a couple of weeks ago and they're still showing up daily. These may have bred locally, but it's difficult to tell. In addition, our Juncos have returned from the Cascades and surrounding foothills. We're still waiting for the other winter sparrows.


A Cedar Waxwing enjoys a ripe apple.


Purple Finches are in the house!


This Pine Siskin enjoys nyjer on an early October afternoon.


The return of Dark-eyed Juncos means that summer is dead.

Several local breeders that disappear in the summer have also returned. These include Spotted Towhees, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Northern Flickers, and Chestnut-backed Chickadees (a new species for this yard).

Neotropical migrants have mostly made their way through at this point. Because of this, I was pleasantly surprised to see a female Black-throated Gray Warbler foraging through the neighbor's apple tree last weekend. I was even more surprised to spot a male in the same tree this morning.


This female Black-throated Gray Warbler was a pleasant surprise.




This blurry Townsend's Warbler might be the last one that we see until November.

While we're still waiting on our winter sparrows, our first winter warbler made a surprise appearance. Townsend's Warblers breed in the Northern Cascades, Northern Rockies, the Yukon, and Alaska. They winter along the Pacific coast, from Washington down to Baja California. We're close enough to the coast to enjoy them in the winter, but our first arrivals typically aren't until Thanksgiving. While I've seen them locally as early as mid-October, I was a little surprised to see on high up in the neighbor's tree during the last week of September. So we'll see how this plays out. Perhaps this is the sign of an early winter, and perhaps we just got lucky this year.


A male Spotted Towhee steps out of the dense brush for a few seconds.


A female Anna's Hummingbird sips sugar-water in the rain.


Freshly-molted Starlings look really nice, but they still eat way too much of my suet.


Our friendly Red-breasted Nuthatches have returned!


Chestnut-backed Chickadees are native to this area, but are a new species to this yard.

In addition to the high numbers of notable avifauna that we've hosted recently, we were pleasantly surprised to see a large, furry Western Gray Squirrel in the yard this morning. Our neighborhood is overwhelmingly populated by the more diminutive Fox Squirrel. Western Grays are native to the region, but tend to inhabit more rural areas. A brash individual jumped from our roof to our trellis (and back) this morning. Their enormous busy tails crack me up.



Wow, so who could ask for anything more? Well, I'm greedy and would like some more Evening Grosbeaks, some California Quail, and a couple of Red Crossbills to photograph for my next post. But even if that doesn't happen, I'm still very thankful for what I have. Until next time...

Fall Cometh

Signs of autumn abound. The sun is well hidden behind the horizon when the alarm clock sounds, and twilight sets in hours before bedtime. Temperatures dip into the 40s at night and struggle to hit 70 in the late afternoon. Some days are overcast, even rainy. Yes, our very short summer (it was still overcast and rainy in mid-June) is just about over. Thankfully, exciting events in the yard help compensate for it.



While migratory species such as the Yellow Warbler shown above have been prominent (and will be discussed shortly), the most conspicuous showing right now are the large flocks of American Goldfinches. "AMGOs" begin to flock in large numbers after their (rather late) breeding seasons ends. This is typically from mid-September through mid-October and, as we've seen before, they can really take over a yard at times. So I was rather surprised to see the flocking winter numbers (30-40) at the end of August. Halfway through the first week of September, their numbers were ranging from 30-70 at a time. I typically don't see these numbers until the end of the month or early October. Some of this could be attributed to the larger yard that we currently have, and/or the more open area of our new neighborhood. That said, I can't help but wonder if we may be getting an early winter this year. It's been cooler and more rainy over the past two weeks than what we typically experience at this time of the year. Of course, that's a small sample size, so who knows. Anyway, the AMGOs have been eating approximately $15 worth of sunflower and nyjer per week, and I've been refilling the feeders approximately three times per week. And, of course, sunflower shells are all over the ground now. That'll be fun to clean up. Lesser Goldfinches are still hanging around in small numbers.

While watching large flocks of goldfinches is nice enough, migratory species that stop by the yard are my primary source of enjoyment. And the past few weeks have not disappointed. Black-headed Grosbeaks, discussed in the last installment, had a very strong showing this spring/summer. As of five days ago, they were still passing through, though they'll be gone for good very shortly. A couple of weeks ago, we hosted a hatch-year. It was the first that I'd ever seen.


A rain-soaked juvenile Black-headed Grosbeak feeds on peanuts.


A male Wilson's Warbler forages through one of our butterfly bushes for insects, while...


... a female Yellow Warbler follows suit shortly afterwards

Migratory warblers are always a good time. Our most prominent "summer warbler," the Orange-crowned, made an appearance last month, but the best showings so far were from Wilson's Warblers. At least one male and at least one female have made appearances on five separate occasions since the very end of last month. I was very pleasantly surprised to also see Yellow Warblers stop by one days late last month. Both a female and a juvenile appeared on the same day. While I'm still holding out hope for a Black-throated Gray to move through, most of the summer warblers have moved south at this point. We'll likely see our wintering Yellow-rumped Warblers next month.


A hatch-year Yellow Warbler forages for insects.

Despite losing many forest-specific species (Brown Creeper, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Red-breasted Sapsucker) after moving out of our old neighborhood last year, I've been pleasantly surprised at the number of meadow/riparian species that have stepped in to replace them. These include the two warblers photographed above, and also flycatchers (both Empidonax and Tyrant). Earlier this year, Hammond's Flycatchers and Western Wood-Pewees were spotted hawking insects in the yard (the latter on multiple occasions). But the most prominent and surprising flycatcher has been the Willow. I don't know what it is, but migratory Willows have really taken a liking to our yard. We could've just as easily hosted the same number of Hammond's or Pacific-slope Flycatchers. Strange, but no complaints.


Willow Flycatchers will use anything for a perch, whether it be this old TV antenna thingy...


... or a thorn-covered rose tree branch.


A Steller's Jay surveys the scene before feeding on cracked corn.

Oddly enough, at least one of my old conifer-specific buddies seems to have followed me here. Steller's Jays (above) breed in the conifer-dominated hillsides around town, and even up at several thousand feet in the Cascades. Even at our old place, Steller's Jays only stopped by when they were en route to or from their higher-elevation breeding grounds (basically October, November, and March). So I was doubly-surprised to have seen two different individuals here in the yard several times over the past week (the last was just a few minutes ago). The fact that they seem to be moving out of their breeding ground (at least, locally) this early again suggests a possible early winter. The poor conifer crop that I've been hearing about in the Central Cascades may also be a factor. Downy Woodpeckers, who also tend to breed elsewhere, have also made something of a comeback over the past couple of weeks. There has also been a noticeable post-breeding dispersal of American Crows, and some of their offspring have been hanging around the yard. No nuthatches yet.


This female/juvenile Anna's Hummingbird has fewer Rufous Hummers to fight off nowadays.


A female Bushtit stops in for suet on a late summer evening.


A hatch-year American Crow (note the brown head) sizes up the yard.


Western Scrub-Jays are the second most frequent yard visitors at this point.

In other news, Rufous Hummingbirds have been slowly tailing off, to the point where I'm going to take down the second nectar feeder now. They should be completely gone by this time next month. Black-capped Chickadees and Bushtits are still abundant. House Finch numbers have remained approximately the same.

I'm going to be really busy with work soon, so this will likely be the last post for a month or so. Hopefully by then we'll host our first Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Townsend's Warbler, or Purple Finch. At the very least, Juncos should begin to move in from the hills. Until then...

Movement, Molt, and Youngsters

The past few weeks have taken us from mid-summer into the beginning of Fall. Changes abound, and I've been able to capture some of it with my snazzy new camera and lens.



Many migratory species have begun moving south recently. One of the most conspicuous in the yard has been the Black-headed Grosbeak. The male shown above was particularly interesting (to me), as it's the first molting individual that I had ever seen. (They always seem to lay low in mid-molt.) Judging from the head plumage, this individual appears to be a second-year male. This male was around for one day at the end of July and was never seen again. Since then, at least one female has visited on three or four occasions.

More migratory species graced us with their presence earlier in the month. But, of course, this was when I was in between cameras, so I didn't have the opportunity to get photos! Anyway, these transients included an Orange-crowned Warbler and a Western Wood-Pewee. Neither has been observed here since. In addition, a couple of Cedar Waxwings were feeding in the neighbor's apple tree the very afternoon after that shipped off my old camera. This kind of sucked, as I had several nice sun-lit shots against a blue sky. But waxwings are year-round residents, abundant in our neighborhood, and tend to hang out in flocks in that apple tree in the winter. I'm sure that I'll get another shot.


A hatch-year Rufous Hummingbird enjoys our sugar-water feeder.


A slightly overexposed female Anna's Hummingbird enjoys our sugar-water feeder, after fending off multiple Rufous.

Male Rufous Hummingbirds are the deadbeats of the hummer world. They show up here in late February/early March, mate with the females that follow close behind, and then take off after the kids are born. No child support or anything. So that leaves mom and the kids to fend for themselves, and that's exactly what they've been doing here. There have been at least three individual Rufous and at least two Anna's going at it since the beginning of the month. Despite the fact that I have a window feeder on the opposite side of the house, the hummers all tend to "share" the more prominent feeder in the backyard. And when I say share, I mean fight tooth-and-nail. They spend so much energy fighting each other that they pretty much have to suck massive amounts of sugar-water afterwards. Seems like sharing perch space would be a more efficient use of energy, but what do I know. Anyway, it's been both interesting and entertaining. And I will be sad to see the Rufous take off for good next month.


A juvenile male Anna's Hummer (note the partially-colored gorget)


A female Black-headed Grosbeak stops by the nyjer feeder... before realizing that she doesn't like nyjer.


This hatch-year Spotted Towhee stopped by the yard in late July, never to be seen again.


American Goldfinches were still rockin' the breeding plumage up until recently...




... but now the majority of them are all molty and nasty-looking. The seasons are definitely changing.

Late summer molt is exemplified well by American Goldfinches, particularly by the males. As shown above, males lose their brilliant yellow plumage and black cap. Females undergo a less dramatic change, transforming from light yellow/green to more of a light yellow/bronze color. Molt begins in late July and is complete in most individuals by mid-September. American Goldfinches also flock like crazy out here in September and October (50-100 visitors at a time is typical for us). We've already witnessed a sharp increase over the past few weeks, and are now hosting up to 18 at a time. This number will likely triple in a few weeks. I will definitely be purchasing a lot of seed over the next two months. To help with the anticipated demand, I've already put up a second nyjer feeder (left).

Starlings are also beginning to molt into their "speckled" winter plumage, while losing the yellow coloring of their summer bills. This transition is more subtle than that experienced by male goldfinches but, as shown below, juvenile starlings can look rather odd at this time of the year.

This hatch-year European Starling certainly caught my eye. I thought it was a juvenile Flicker at first!


Hatch-year male House Finches slowly molt into their reddish-pink plumage at this time of the year.


A Western Scrub-Jay enjoys a drink on a hot summer afternoon. Water is very important in regions with warm, arid summers.


A Black-capped Chickadee stops in for a peanut on a late August afternoon.

That's about it for now. I'll have another update (and more photos) in a few weeks. And then I'll be getting very busy with work. (Though I'm sure that I'll be able to tear myself away to photograph migrants in October!)

Summer Doldrums

Being smack in the middle of summer, activity has been relatively slow for most of the month. Thankfully, overall activity has been better than expected and I don't have much to complain about.



At the end of June, the Red-winged Blackbird (above) was the most frequent yard visitor and that hasn't changed much. Interestingly, there has been a large and unexpected increase in the number of Bushtits (flocks of up to 15, which appear to be roosting in the neighbor's apple tree) and Black-capped Chickadees. They appear to be traveling in a mixed flock, which I found somewhat surprising, as this typically doesn't happen until September. Downy Woodpeckers have also made a significant comeback, facilitated by the dispersion of the Starlings that were eating the suet so quickly that I had to leave the feeder empty. At least one male and one female Downy are now visiting several times per week. Anna's Hummingbirds, absent for much of the first half of the month, have also made something of a comeback.


A female Downy Woodpecker has a bite to eat on an overcast July morning.


American Goldfinches dine on nyjer. Some individuals are beginning to molt back into their basic plumage.


A male Red-winged Blackbird eyes the peanut feeder.

A few irregular species have also broken up the monotony of July. The most interesting was a Song Sparrow (below), which hung out in the yard for a morning about two weeks ago. Song Sparrows are year-round visitors in this part of the country, but tend to not visit backyards until the fall/winter. So seeing one feeding on spilled sunflower on the deck one morning was a pleasant surprise.



Other interesting visitors have included a small flock of Cedar Waxwings that moved through and hung out in the neighbor's large birch trees, a few Violet-green Swallows engaged in insect-hawking overhead, a couple of crows, and our first Rufous Hummingbird (a female) since May. We have also been hosting a Western Scrub-Jay with a lame left leg (below) for the past month or so. Despite the injury, he/she seems to be doing just fine.



While we have avoided a repeat of last summer's heat wave, temperatures have reached the mid-80s through mid-90's for much of the past few weeks and the fresh water has become a huge attraction. We currently have two bird baths set up, one with a solar-powered fountain. In the Western United States, where summers are on the dry side, water is even more important than food at this time of the year.


A Song Sparrow bathes on a hot summer morning.


A Western Scrub-Jay cools off on a hot July afternoon.

Well, that's about it for now. The summer doldrums should continue into next month, but hopefully we'll see an uptick in migrating Rufous Hummingbirds and perhaps other species. I'm using this lull (and the pay raise from my new job) to upgrade my camera equipment. Having been disgusted with our poor-quality windows for some time, I've removed the screen from the master bedroom window and will be shooting from an open window there much more often. These two moves should significantly increase my photo quality, and I'm very excited. See you in about a month.