July 29, 2007 at 4:15 pm (Steller's Jay)
Surprisingly, one of the more elusive visitors we’ve had has been Steller’s Jays (Cyanocitta stelleri). In other locales, they just seem to be a pest at times. Around here, it seems they’re rather shy and unusually well behaved. Usually, when we have corn out, they’ll forage along the ground. But today, this one discovered the feeder.
Wisely, he chose a time between the competing waves of finches, sparrows and the flickers vying for the prime spot on the feeder. A bit shy, he wouldn’t pose and show his face to me, but still they are beautiful birds. Hopefully, we’ll be seeing a little more of him.
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July 29, 2007 at 4:05 pm (General, Northern Flicker)
Over the last few weeks, a relative abundance of available summertime food coupled with our reduction in the amount and number of feeders we’ve made available has reduced the number of our visitors quite a bit. All that seems to be changing though. This morning and afternoon there has been a flurry of activity in the yard at a level not seen since springtime.
We’ve been absolutely swarmed by dozens of sparrows, house finches, goldfinches, black-capped chickadees and at least three northern flickers on the feeder, often at the same time. Today, a juvenile flicker spent quite a bit of time foraging in the yard as did a pair of robins and literally dozens of sparrows. Its good to see more activity and a broader diversity too.
Still the repeated visits of the flickers on the feeder was one of the highlights of a busy summer Sunday afternoon.
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June 6, 2007 at 3:15 pm (European Starling)
A few European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) have been around our yard for some time now. Last fall, a flock of ten or so would descent like locusts on our lawn and forage. More recently, we’ve been only frequented by one or two adults working the lawn for insects and worms.
Just in the last few days, however, I’ve begun to see what I thought were a few new brown medium sized mystery birds. It turns out that they are juvenile European Starlings. You can see the comparison here.
I still wasn’t completely sure until today when I saw them all together working on the suet feeder with the adults feeding the juveniles. The juveniles would sit atop the suet or on the fence nearby and the adults would go back and forth bringing food to the babies. I say babies, but as the pictures show, these are nearly full sized “babies.”
From my vantage point, they were cleverly concealing themselves on the fence behind our roses which are now in full bloom.
They seem to be making the rounds together now. All in all, about 6 or 8 birds. They seem particularly attracted to the bath which is conveniently near the suet and they don’t mind sharing with the sparrows.
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June 3, 2007 at 5:09 pm (Favorites, Rock Dove (Pigeon))
Not satisfied with gleaning the seeds that drop, the pigeons discovered the feeder today. Quite a sight to see them figure out how to balance their bulk on the feeder. They sure looked uncomfortable.
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May 26, 2007 at 8:32 pm (American Robin)
Ever watchful and never interested in the feeders, we’ve been frequented by several American Robins (Turdus migratorius) of late. I was finally able to get a decent picture of our now-regular visitor.
They’ve been quite vocal of late and frequenting the area of our yard mostly in the mornings and evenings. We can usually see our little red sentinel checking things out from the roof peak, powerlines or here from the top of the fence. They seem to be mostly interested in worms or insects in the lawn. Attempts to lure them to the feeder with various types of fruit has been, well, fruitless. The pair seem particularly interested in nesting materials bits of which we’re finding on fence rails and the sidewalk.
They have made our birdbath a regular stop, mostly for drinks, but on occasion for an extended drenching. I caught him at unawares last week sharing a bath with the sparrows.
He was there for so long and was so energetic he nearly emptied the bath!
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May 20, 2007 at 10:27 am (Favorites, House Finch)
Lots of wee babies out and about lately. We’ve seen baby sparrows, chickadees and these house finch families visiting the feeder lately. While the little ones seem to have no problem flying, mom is still feeding them, though she’s showing them the ropes. Typically, the families have been converging on the feeder with the babies sitting in the seed tray while mom puts food in their mouths until they get the hang of feeding on their own.
The house finches seem to be ahead of the sparrows right now. The little ones are loosing their fluffy plumage (though it still looks like they have bed head) and have started eating on their own while the sparrows are still cheep-cheeping and waiting for mom to fill their beaks.
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May 20, 2007 at 10:07 am (Anna's Hummingbird)
The little hummers had been visiting our yard and hummingbird feeder fairly regularly through the winter, but with the advent of spring blooms everywhere, they’ve been less frequent. With many of the plants in your yard coming into bloom and the addition of some strategically placed hanging flower pots, the hummers have put us on back on their daily route.
With so few species of hummingbird in North America (only 12), and even fewer that live or pass through this area, this is most likely a female Anna’s Hummingbird (Calypte anna), though they are so small and quick its hard to tell 100%. We haven’t seen a male this year yet which would make identification easier.
This little gal seems particularly partial to the hanging baskets outside my office and next to the hopper feeder. She’s even been known to perch for a few seconds on the hanger, but is still just too quick to get a great shot.
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May 19, 2007 at 11:14 am (Favorites, Northwestern Crow)
Big bird, small feeder. Curiousity finally overcame him I guess.
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May 13, 2007 at 6:11 pm (Black-Headed Grosbeak)
I’m glad the birdcam is back online again, because what do I see on a gray Sunday morning at the feeder? A bright orange visitor in the form of a Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus).
At first glance, I saw the orange and thought maybe the American Robin that’s been keeping an eye on things decided to finally visit the feeder, but this guy’s striking wing marks give him away. He and the missus visited the feeder briefly and now seem to prefer the suet feeder over the sunflower mix.
They’re still a bit timid as we are a new stop on their rounds, but judging by how often they’ve been at the suet today, I suspect we’ll be seeing more of these pretty birds.
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May 5, 2007 at 1:27 pm (Rock Dove (Pigeon))
My wife and I took a walk around our neighborhood a few days ago when the weather was glorious and surprisingly we spooked a flock of pigeons. I hadn’t seen them in our neighborhood but we were a few blocks from home, so I thought they must prefer the nicer view up the hill.
Lo and behold, not two days after our first encounter, we have two Rock Doves (Columba livia) foraging below the feeder in our yard. Cornell calls them Rock Pigeons while the National Audubon Society calls them Rock Doves. They are both listed as C. livia, so call them what you like, they are still striking birds.
This pair is still a bit skittish, when I opened the window they fluttered off, but I’m glad to have a visitor that will glean what the sparrows leave behind.
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