American Robin

Visits from the local Robin family are sporadic as this location doesn't have mature cotoneaster bushes with the berries loved by robins. Maybe we will see more next year?

The American Robin is considered a member of the Thrush family.

Varied Thrush

The Varied Thrush is often quite elusive, but is a common site around peanut feeders in winter.

Sparrows

White Crowned Sparrow

We have two pairs of sparrows this spring, the white crowned sparrow and golden crowned sparrow, who come visiting the juniper bush when the squirrels retreat from their breakfast feast. We have been throwing out a bit of Russian Thistle seed that was getting stale, and this seems to be attracting them, which is a surprise.

Golden Crowned Sparrow below....

Fox Sparrow
One of those birds who usually just go, "Cheep, cheep, cheep" as they travel through the bush year round, and at springtime they give you glorious song to reward your patienced the rest of the year........mind you, I am sure the song is for the mate, not for human entertainment.

Bushtits

Bushtits

If you sense this cloud of cheaping tiny birds passing over you as if checking to see if you are a tree for landing purposes, it is most likely a cloud of Bushtits. They build nests that rival hummingbird nests, hanging in a pendulous fashion from a branch, with the entrance in the top.

The boys and I call them "birdy mice".

At left is a bushtit nest, (behind leaves and branches), that housed at least 12 babies in the year this was taken. The nest is too delicate to last past a year as rain and snow basically destroys the nests once they are empty. It is interesting that these nests are so similar to hummingbird structures as the bodies of bushtits are not much larger than larger hummingbirds.

Chickadees

The Chestnut Backed Chickadee is slightly smaller, and often chased out by the Black Capped Chickadee. If you start catering with chickadee food, the chances are that you will lose the Chestnut Backed Chickadees, in our experience.

Pine Siskins

Pine Siskin Couple having a quiet meal before the hord found the location.

At left is a very small portion of the feeding frenzy that happens when a flock of Pine Siskins arrive. They are the noisest of birds, shouting "here I am" to their preditors, with their only protection being the very large numbers in the flocks they travel with. All other sounds are drowned out by these birds; traffic, rushing water of flooding creeks, other birds, everything fades into the background.

Last year we had the yard dug up for drainage, and also had a load of sand dumped next to this area for use in making cement. The picture at right is not the clearest as any disturbance to find another lens would have caused the birds to all fly off, which they did, after the photo was taken. It was a reminder to me that birds need sand in their crops to digest food, and we have the ideal location, particularly whey it is raining. Most of the little grey lumps in the photo, (right), are Pine Siskins hunting a digestive aid between battles at getting to the perches on the feeders.

Finches

We have a number of the finch family visiting our feeders. The American Goldfinch has a penchant for nyger seed, and the House Finches prefer the sunflower seeds. Both these birds add to the lilting sounds of your garden immeasurably in the spring as they hang out with filled tummies, basking in the sunlight.

See Juncos and Towhees

Junco

The Dark Eyed Junco is the first sign that fall is here, and winter coming.

Most of the time they are around us, they make a slight 'clicking' sound, and then, like a lot of the song birds, the males break out in chorus when spring is here, trying to woo a mate.

Moving water is a bird magnet. When it rains, it is common to see a lot of birds bathing, around early afternoon. One bird will get the urge, and then the others, because of the moving water caused by the first bird, must follow.

At right, getting behind the ears. The lack of fear of water is amazing.

I guess the need for cleanliness overrides any fears they have.

Towhees

Spotted Towhees nest in the most surprising places. We found one out at Colony Farm one year, right beside the main walkway for the gardens, where people passed by on a fairly continuous basis. They will pick a spot like a fenceline with last year's dead grass draping about, and nestle in underneath where they won't be noticed. Quite amazing when you discover them.