The past month has been interesting. For a while, the warm-ish temperatures, ample sun, and lack of rain suggested a possible early Spring. But, of course, the rain, clouds, cold, and misery returned and I suppose that we'll have to wait another month. But at least there have been some interesting avifauna in the yard.
The big story of the winter so far has been Varied Thrushes (above). In six winters out here, I've never seen irruptive numbers like this. At least five individuals visit daily and they're almost constantly here. I'm trying to soak this in and enjoy it because we probably won't have a showing like this again any time soon.
Other migrants have also made it over to our yard. A juvenile White-crowned Sparrow visited regularly from early January through early February. I haven't seen it in a couple of weeks, but such is the nature of migratory sparrows. Even more interesting was the appearance of an Orange-crowned Warbler two weeks ago. They winter in coastal Southern California and Mexico, as well as the far Southern inland United States, and typically do not make their way up here until the third or fourth week of March. This individual most likely overwintered here. It was here briefly on a Saturday morning, and was never seen again.
This juvenile White-crowned Sparrow hung around for a full month.
This rare Orange-crowned Warbler was seen briefly one morning, and that was it.
Other, less rare yard visitors have also been present. After a long absence, Pine Siskins made a comeback this weekend. Red-winged Blackbirds, regulars in the Spring/Summer, have also been calling from the neighbor's apple tree regularly and occasionally visiting the feeders. More interestingly, a Spotted Towhee visited us last Sunday. Spotted Towhees are regulars in this part of the country and rather abundant. However, they're not big fans of our semi-urban and cat-infested neighborhood. So it was nice to see one again. Their spunk, personality, and silly calls are welcomed on a dreary winter day.
A Spotted Towhee noisily scratches around for spilled cracked corn and millet.
This individual was most likely molting (note the ragged-looking tail feathers).
A Pine Siskin feeds on a dreary Saturday morning.
We've also hosted some handicapped individuals recently. A male Purple Finch hung out here for the latter two weeks of January. It looked perfectly healthy, but the right side of its lower mandible appears to be either deformed or damaged. That said, it didn't appear to have any difficulty chowing down on sunflower seed. Our other handicapped feathered friend is a one-legged Western Scrub-Jay. Fortunately, this individual has found a way to get by on one leg and has little trouble using our feeders. It may not reproduce, but it's able to live an otherwise normal life.
This handsome male Purple Finch looks perfectly healthy...
...but closer inspection reveals a damaged or deformed lower mandible. Thankfully, this guy is still able to eat normally.
This Western Scrub-Jay is missing its left leg. Yet, it also is able to function and live a semi-normal life.
Many typical yard visitors have also had strong showings over the past month. Our local woodpeckers are a prime example. Back in November and December, Downy Woodpeckers and Northern Flickers were more occasional than regular. They've made a strong comeback since last month, and I'm seeing both very regularly now - sometimes several times a day. Yesterday, I recorded five visits from at least one male Downy and four total visits from at least two Flickers. Robins have also been flocking in large numbers in the area over the past two weeks. Bushtits and Dark-eyed Juncos are still in relatively large numbers, suggesting that winter isn't going away quite yet. In addition to our normal "Oregon" subspecies Juncos, there are at least two "Slate-colored" Juncos in the yard as well.
This female Northern Flicker is a Red x Yellow-shafted "Intergrade" subspecies. These individuals often move from colder Central Oregon in winter for the our more temperate climate. It has mostly "Red-shafted" blood, as displayed by the lack of a prominent red mark on the nape and the lack of yellow feathers under the wings and tail. But note that the tail feathers are more orange than salmon. If you click on the photo and look very closely at the nape, there is also a faint hint of a dull red mark.
A raggedy-looking Downy Woodpecker hits up the suet feeder.
A female "Slate-colored" Dark-eyed Junco perches atop a Rhododendron bud.
The omnipresent Yellow-rumped Warbler sits atop one of our Pieris bushes, guarding "its" suet feeder.
A female Anna's Hummingbird enjoys sugar-water solution. This individual appears to be a juvenile, as it lacks a more prominent gorget mark. While skies continue to be headache-inducing gray, there are some signs of Spring around the corner...
The male American Goldfinch in the center is molting into its breeding plumage. This photo was taken a couple of weeks ago, and some individuals are even more yellow at this point.
One of our local Song Sparrows sings its beautiful song from atop the fence. They've been doing this for about three weeks now.
OK, I've been waiting a while to take some video with my camera, but haven't had time until this weekend. (Thanks to my wife for keeping our daughter occupied on Saturday while I shot and edited.) The framing isn't ideal, as I use prime (fixed focal length) telephoto lenses, which have inherently superior optics to zoom lenses. So while I can always crop and frame with photos, I'm stuck at either 300 or 420 mm for video. (Perhaps I'll buy a lower-tier 70-300 mm zoom lens for videography at some point down the line.) Anyway, I managed to shoot three short movies this weekend. Enjoy...
Downy Woodpecker at the suet feeder, with brief cameos from a Black-capped Chickadee and a Yellow-rumped Warbler.
Varied Thrush feeding on sunflower chips. The low-pitched grinding sound that you hear in the background is my lens' image stabilization mechanism, which I forgot to shut off.
Yellow-rumped Warbler at the suet feeder. You can also hear our 11-month-old banging around in the background.
Well, that's it for now. I'll return next month, hopefully with the report of our first Rufous Hummingbird. I'll try to include more video as well.
Wow, it's been a full month since I've last posted! I typically blame work for such long absences, often justifiably. However, illness is to blame this time. I've been fighting a series of colds for the past two months, plus a short bout with the flu at the end of December. Last Thursday, I came down with a particularly nasty sinus cold and I lost most of my hearing in my right ear that evening. A trip to the doctor on Saturday revealed that I have an ear infection and probably a sinus infection as well. So I've begun my slow road to recovery via antibiotics. Since I took a nap this afternoon and don't have work tomorrow, I thought that this evening would be a nice place to pick up. But enough about me...
The past month has been quite lively, with an average of over 18 species per weekend in the yard. Much of this is due to the regional fallout of irruptive species this winter (Evening Grosbeak, Varied Thrush, Pine Siskin, etc.). Some recent species of note include a female Townsend's Warbler (above) who, despite the best efforts of our local "bully" Yellow-rumped Warbler, has been visiting the feeders semi-regularly since mid-December. Townsend's Warblers are one of my favorites, and their bright yellow plumage is a sight for sore eyes on the typical gray, overcast winter day here.
Surprisingly, Evening Grosbeaks (above) have visited on two of the past four weekends. Last weekend, a record five were recorded. As was mentioned previously, there was a poor conifer seed crop in the Central Cascades this year, and the influx of this very uncommon urban backyard visitor is almost certainly a result of this. A look at the past decade of FeederWatch results from the past decade shows that Oregon and Washington residents are seeing 2-3 times the normal number of Evening Grosbeaks this winter. Another pleasant surprise has come in the form of Purple Finches. I typically see movements of them in March/April (and sometimes October), but not often outside of those months. Over the current fall/winter season, I've hosted them every month since September and one mature male visited in consecutive weekends at the beginning of this month. I imagine that the same search for seed is responsible for this. And, speaking of irruptive finches, I would be remiss to exclude the Pine Siskins who were present in unusually-high numbers this fall. Their numbers have fallen off significantly over the past month, and I'm seeing approximately 5 at a time per weekend.
This mature Purple Finch hits up the sunflower feeder.
A Pine Siskin picks spilled nyjer seed off of the leaves of a bush.
The winter irruption of Varied Thrushes into the lowlands is a welcome sight, especially since this event is infrequent and unpredictable. Some years, you'll see them outside your window every morning. In others, you may not see them at all. This has easily been the best irruptive year since 2006/2007, where unusually heavy snowfall in November forced them out of the Cascades and Coast Range. The reason for their appearance this year is somewhat more complex, as they began showing up in Central Oregon in record numbers back in October. Whatever the reason, I've felt very grateful to see 3-4 in my yard every morning since late November. We have also been visited more frequently by Red-breasted Nuthatches recently. And I am also happy to report the first true "winter sparrows" of the year. A Golden-crowned Sparrow was briefly observed at the beginning of the month, but did not return. However, a juvenile White-crowned Sparrow showed the following weekend and has been a regular over the past two weeks. Whew... I was beginning to worry that the winter sparrows had abandoned us this year!
This male Varied Thrush forages through the lawn on a January afternoon.
The closely-related American Robins have also been appearing in the trees recently, but haven't come down to feed for some reason.
A juvenile White-crowned Sparrow forages through spilled sunflower seed. Large flocks of Bushtits (25-45) have been the norm over the past month.
Common species have been making news recently as well. Bushtits (above) have been flocking to the suet feeders in unusually larger numbers this month. Part of this may be due to the freezing temperatures that we experienced earlier this month, and the lack of insects that accompanies such weather. Northern Flickers have been visiting more frequently than usual, and I was surprised to see three up in the neighbor's apple tree last weekend. Lack of natural food sources is likely the reason here as well. And a common summer visitor - the Red-winged Blackbird - has made something of a resurgence recently. Three were at the feeders yesterday, and I hope to see more of them in the coming months.
This (juvenile?) male Red-winged Blackbird braves the seemingly-omnipresent rain for a quick meal.
This "Myrtle" subspecies Yellow-rumped Warbler has become a regular, despite the best efforts of the...
... local bully "Audubon's" subspecies (note the yellow throat) Yellow-rumped Warbler.
This male Dark-eyed Junco perches atop one of the rhododendron bushes. House Finches have been present in relatively high numbers recently. Thankfully, the number of diseased individuals has been minimal so far (knock on wood).
Well, it's getting late here. I hope to be back within the next few weeks, completely healthy and with more to report. Until then, here is a summary of my FeederWatch data so far this season...
It's been a while since my last post, which of course means that I was incredibly busy at work. I'm on break now and, though slightly handicapped with my laptop in the shop, finally have some time to share the recent goings-on.
One of the telltale signs of winter is the Varied Thrush. These Robin-like birds flee the mountains when snowfall covers the ground. They may be absent from the lowlands in the winter if the snowfall is insufficient, but we were fortunate to receive a significant amount of precipitation last month. Since the last week of November, we've been hosting 2-3 males in the backyard. They enjoy sunflower chips.
The past few weeks have been particularly good for finches as well. Thanksgiving morning brought us two Evening Grosbeaks (above) and a pair of Purple Finches. Purple Finches are uncommon winter visitors, and are much more likely seen in October, March, and April. Evening Grosbeaks are even less common, but both species have nonetheless visited multiple times in the past few weeks. This is already shaping up to be a very unique winter.
This male Evening Grosbeak has been visiting much more often than expected...
... as has this male Purple Finch.
A female Purple Finch inconspicuously forages through spilled sunflower seed.
While finches and thrushes have been the big news recently, winter warblers have also been frequenting the yard in increasing numbers. Yellow-rumped Warblers have been hawking insects from the trees for several weeks now, but only recently have they begun frequenting the yard for suet. We're currently hosting at least two regulars: one "Audubon's" subspecies and one "Myrtle." The Audubon's is a real territorial jerk and chases other warblers and kinglets out of the yard (he's not so successful with the starlings). The other winter warbler is the Townsend's. Some years are better for others when it comes to Townsend's (last year wasn't so great), so I was very happy to see a female at the suet feeders twice last weekend. I even managed to snap a poor photo of her.
Our not-so-friendly resident "Audubon's" Yellow-rumped Warbler prepares to snack on some suet.
This less obnoxious and much prettier Townsend's Warbler enjoys suet in the squirrel/starling-proof feeder.
And I would be remiss at this point if I didn't discuss our Warbler of the Year: the American Redstart. This vagrant female has been visiting the yard semi-regularly since the first week of November, and continued to do so through the beginning of this month. But I have not seen her since the beginning of the month. So who knows if she's moved on, or if I just haven't been looking at the right times.
At least one Ruby-crowned Kinglet has been appearing semi-regularly recently. He/she appears to be more interested in hawking insects than the suet feeders at this point. This past Saturday, one was foraging for insects that were hiding from the rain under our awnings. Interestingly, a bird that's often misidentified as an RC Kinglet - the Hutton's Vireo - made a surprise appearance two days ago. Hutton's Vireos are year-round residents, but are far from regular yard visitors. So that was a nice surprise.
While speaking of finches earlier, I forgot to mention that we're still seeing a ton of Pine Siskins (above). They're showing up in flocks of 20-40, and are going through nyjer like it's going out of style. Their numbers seem to have diminished somewhat this week, so that may be changing soon. Still, I have never seen a showing of Siskins like this before. The closely-related American Goldfinches have been quietly flocking in number of approximately a dozen or so. Lesser Goldfinches have been few and far between.
Starlings are pests, but very good-looking pests.
Northern Flickers have made a comeback, and have even driven some of the Starlings away.
Woodpeckers, absent for most of October, have made their usual winter comeback. Downies are regulars again, with at least one male and one female frequenting the yard. At least one male Northern Flicker (above) has also become a semi-regular. It's nice to see both back in the fold. Somewhat surprisingly, Red-breasted Nuthatches have been absent since October. I have also not seen any "proper" winter sparrows recently (aside from the 10-20 Juncos that forage here).
Well, that's it for now. Have a Merry Christmas and I'll be back sometime in January.
Autumn always brings winter migrants that I expect, local dispersants that I don't necessarily expect, and some unexpected visitors. But one visitor this month has redefined the term "unexpected."
Two weekends ago, I had just returned from a short trip to the playground with my wife and 8-month-old and was considering taking an early-afternoon nap. I peered out of my bedroom window and noticed an unusual bird with a lot of flashy yellow coloring. After breaking out the binoculars and making a quick mental note of its field marks (none of which I recognized), I ran for the camera and was able to fire off several shots. Yeah, it was definitely a warbler but, despite the gray head, it was not a Nashville, MacGillivray's, or anything else that is native to this part of the country. While looking through the Sibley guide (the large "Bible" version), I began to get nervous as I approached the end of the warbler section and wasn't finding a match. And then I found it. My photo was a dead ringer - American Redstart, female. Wow. This is not only a bird that should be in Central/South America by now, but one whose summer range doesn't even include Western Oregon. Indeed, this is only the fourth ever record in Lane County. Needless to say, this finding has attracted a great deal of local attention. Several people have stopped by to either comb the neighborhood or stand in my backyard for a couple of hours with a pair of binoculars. Unfortunately, it's a very tricky bird to locate, as it doesn't visit my yard to feed on anything that I offer, and only one person outside of my household has been able to view it in person. We are also going to be experiencing below-freezing temperatures in the next couple of days, which will kill of most of its food sources (insects and grubs). Hopefully our little visitor learns how to eat suet quickly.
Our female American Redstart hawks insects in the backyard on a surprisingly sunny November afternoon.
Outside of the most significant yard bird of my life, there are other interesting things going on here as well. One of the consequences of the bad conifer crop in the Cascades appears to be an irruption of Pine Siskins (left) into the Valley. I hosted a flock of ~50 last weekend and over 20 were jamming the feeders this weekend. I've never seen this many in November (heck, I usually don't see them for another month or so), so the seed crop must really be THAT bad. Unrelated to the conifer crop, House Finches have been hanging out in much higher-than-normal numbers recently. A half dozen were here last weekend and that number went up to 8 this weekend. Fortunately, only one had avian pox. American Goldfinches have reverted to their relatively modest winter numbers, and a few Lesser Golfinches showed up this morning. Lesser Goldfinches, in my experience, are about as fickle as any bird can be. They show up for no apparent reason, and then leave for no apparent reason. Go figure. I heard an Evening Grosbeak calling in the rain this afternoon, but was unable to establish visual contact.
This Pine Siskin enjoys sunflower hearts on a late October morning.
I'm not the only one who has noticed all of the flocking Siskins and House Finches. Accipiters (forest-dwelling hawks) are common out here - especially in the winter - and flocks of birds rarely fail to pique their interest. Over the past couple of weeks, an adult Cooper's Hawk and a juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk have been making frequent trips to the backyard in search of meals. They've had some success and, as long as they don't eat my Redstart, I'm more than happy to see them thrive. And if they help keep the Starling numbers to a minimum, then all the better.
Our neighborhood Cooper's Hawk hangs out for a while after nearly nabbing a Starling.
Mid/late November is the time of year for Kinglets. Both species native to North American - the Ruby-crowned and the Golden-crowned - move through my yard at this time of the year. The first Ruby-crowned Kinglet was spotted last weekend and I was treated to multiple visits today as well. The more elusive Golden-crowned made its first appearance of the season yesterday. Both are very small and constantly on the move, making photography difficult (I still have yet to take an even halfway decent photo of a Golden-crowned). Fortunately, I was able to snap a semi-decent photo of a Ruby-crowned this morning:
This male Ruby-crowned Kinglet forages for insects in one of my butterfly bushes.
And speaking of tiny birds, our year-round resident Anna's Hummingbirds have been hanging around in increasing numbers now. As the weather gets colder, the ticks and mites that comprise their winter diets become more difficult to find. Thus, they flock to and fight over our nectar feeder and our Pineapple sage bushes. It would make more sense for them to share, but I suppose that it's just not in their nature - until it gets really cold outside, as it may in a couple of days.
A male Anna's Hummingbird partakes in some Pineapple sage nectar.
These bushes are "short-day plants," which means that they grow and bloom in the winter, when daylight hours are short.
A hatch-year male Anna's Hummingbird goes for the artificial nectar. Note the incomplete iridescent plumage on the neck. Across most of America, the return of Dark-eyed Juncos from their Canadian breeding grounds means that it's October. Though some do breed locally out here, our situation is pretty much the same. Juncos began to visit the yard in medium-sized numbers (6-10) last month, and their numbers have doubled since. The flock of 20 that I hosted this afternoon is likely due to an additional movement from the week of snow that has recently hit the Cascades and Coast Ranges. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we almost always see the "Oregon" subspecies. However, a small number of the "Slate-colored" subspecies (the predominant one East of the Rockies) appear in the winter. I usually get one per winter and this season's showed up late this morning. Interestingly, we've been hosting another anomaly Junco: a leucistic individual. This is the first leucistic bird that I've ever seen.
This is the first Slate-colored Junco that I've hosted in two years.
This leucistic Junco has been a regular in the yard for the past month or so. And while we're discussing the sparrow family, I'm now wondering if I'm going to have regular migratory winter sparrows this season. Last year, I hosted two Golden-crowned and one White-crowned Sparrow for the vast majority of the late fall/winter season. Late last month, I was feeling optimistic about a repeat with two Golden-crowned Sparrows visiting semi-regularly. However, both seem to have disappeared a few weeks ago. I have yet to see a White-crowned Sparrow, but those typically do not show up until December or later. However, I do have a regular Song Sparrow. Song Sparrows are year-round residents, but typically do not inhabit urban yards outside of the winter. In my experience, they're somewhat erratic winter visitors but this one doesn't appear to be in a hurry to move on.
This Golden-crowned Sparrow showed up in late October, but moved on just a couple of weeks later.
However, this Song Sparrow doesn't appear to be going anywhere. My semi-urban neighborhood isn't the best woodpecker habitat, but my Downies and Flickers have made a strong resurgence recently. This is an encouraging development, and hopefully I'll host a more woodpeckers this year than last.
This Downy Woodpecker...
...and this Northern Flicker both dig the new suet feeder.
A typical winter scene: A Western Scrub-Jay eats peanuts on a cold and wet afternoon.
Well, that's about it for now. It'll be interesting to see how our Redstart does in sub-freezing temperatures and how the goings-on in the yard shake out otherwise. I'll report back in a few weeks...
