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Buh-Bye

Since we're apparently not allowed to use hyperlinks here anymore, I've decided to move my blog to a more professional site...

http://eugenebirds.blogspot.com/

Fall Flocking Begins

Well, I haven't posted here in over a month.  I've been extremely busy since mid-August, but have found the time to take some photos and have a few new stories to tell... American and Lesser Goldfinches flock to the new high-capacity thistle feeder. Bushtits flock to the suet feeder. It's mid-September, and breeding season is over.  Species that are normally gregarious in the Fall and Winter have begun to flock in search of food.  This has been evidence in our yard, as numbers of American Goldfinches and Bushtits have increased substantially.  They're usually showing up now in double-digit numbers now.  American ... (read more)

Unusual Juveniles

While working at home (and I use the term "work" very loosely), I've seen a lot over the past few weeks.  And I've been seeing stuff I've never seen before... A juvenile Norther Flicker (right) gets a bite of suet from mom.  Surprisingly, the paint on the car was not scratched. A fledgling Dark-eyed Junco perches atop the fence before feeding on the deck. While juvenile Downy Woodpeckers are regulars in July here, I've never seen a fledgling Flicker here until about a week ago.  They aren't exactly unheard of in urban areas, but are far from common.  Even less common here in the Valley are Dark-eyed Juncos.  I ... (read more)

Slackin' in July

Despite being almost four full days removed from my vacation (see the previous post) and having a ton of work to do, I'm still sitting on my rear, enjoying the sun, watching baseball, and engaging in bird-related activities.  Guess I'll be cramming in this work at the last minute... A female Anna's Hummingbird feeding from a fuchsia. Despite being gone for most of the first half of the month, there have been some noticeable changes.  The first and most obvious is an increased number of juvenile Black-capped Chickadees, House Finches, Lesser Goldfinches, Scrub-Jays, and American Crows.  They've all been frequenting our feeders and bird ... (read more)

Connecticut Birds

Here are some photos from my recent vacation to CT... White-breasted Nuthatch. Carolina Wren - nesting right next to my in-laws' screen door. Tufted Titmouse - I miss these guys. Juvenile Red-bellied Woodpecker. Eastern Phoebe. Song Sparrow - Not as darkly-colored as the Pacific Coast subspecies. Gray Catbird Veery - It was shot from a ways away and looks "veery small." Chipping Sparrow - Saw about a million of these. Mourning Dove - Also native to our area, but I hardly ever see them. And of course, no photo collection of East Coast birds would be complete without a Northern ... (read more)

Summer Solstice

Well, I was finally able to tear myself away from work for a day.  I'm going to be busy/vacationing for the next month, so the next update will most likely be in late July. The days are as long as they're going to get now.  And with the youngsters out and about, this means lot of activity in the yard... A juvenile Lesser Goldfinch on a sunny morning. An "official" Summer (June 21) Pine Siskin.  I never thought that they'd still be here, much less breed here. The big story right now is juveniles.  Fledgling birds are are almost constantly here, with Lesser Goldfinches, House Finches, and Starlings being the most ... (read more)

Summer Siskins and Squirrels

Technically, it isn't summer quite yet, but it's beginning to resemble summer in several ways.  First, it was in the mid-90's last weekend.  Secondly, the migratory movements of Black-headed Grosbeaks, Yellow-rumped/Orange-crowned Warblers, and various Sparrows are complete and they're all essentially gone.  And while this is definitely a bummer, one of the most exciting parts of summer has already arrived... A fledgling Pine Siskin feeds with its parents.  Note the sparrow-like tan and brown coloring, as opposed to the strongly-contrasting white and brown of the adult (top).  Siskins are uncommon breeders here in the ... (read more)

Spring Migration Super-Mega-Double-Issue

Holy moly, it's been almost a month and a half!  Apologies for the delay.  Can't you tell that I've been busy?  Thankfully, much has happened since late March.  So here we go... Black-headed Grosbeaks are here! A male Wood Duck sits cautiously at the far end of the driveway on an early April evening. A juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk hunts small passerines on an overcast April afternoon. One major theme that has encompassed our recent visitors would be "large birds."  Outside of actually getting a Sharp-shinned Hawk to pose for a photo (thanks, Kate), the main "big bird" story has been our ability to ... (read more)

Sping Is Here!

Wow, it's been a while since my last post!  I have A LOT of catching up to do... Rufous Hummingbird (male) Male American Goldfinches, apparently turning yellow earlier than usual this year White-crowned Sparrow - another Spring transient in our yard So, as you can see, Spring is most definitely here.  Rufous Hummers were at the feeders during the second weekend of March and have been hanging around ever since.  Still waiting on the Black-headed Grosbeaks, Hermit Thrushes, Wilson's Warblers, and Orange-crowned Warblers, but the the ball has clearly begun rolling.  Bushtits are feeding from the suet feeder in flocks of < ... (read more)

Purple Finches!

I saw a pair of female or juvenile male Purple Finches on a Sunday afternoon back in October.  They did not return and I was left thinking that I possibly may never see another one here again.  Thankfully, I was wrong.  Three Purple Finches (two males and either a female or first-year male) descended on my tube feeder on Sunday morning.  And what a sight it was... In addition to this unexpected surprise, the white (not yellow) throats of some of my Yellow-rumped Warbler photos from this weekend caught my attention.  The white throat and white neck sides is indicative of the Myrtle subspecies that I've seen surprisingly little ... (read more)

The Dead of Winter

Winter arrived shortly after my last post... with a vengeance.  I woke up the last Sunday morning of January to find over an inch of snow on the ground, and we ended up with over 3" before it finally began to melt away later that afternoon. A Dark-eyed Junco wondering what the heck is going on Awww... While 3" of snow is a welcomed sight because it's so unusual for our neck of the woods, it's also welcomed because forces terrestrial feeders out of the hills and into our backyard.  Not-so-coincidentally, we began to see multiple (2-4) Varied Thrushes at our suet basket and bird bath on a regular basis right after this.  It ... (read more)

Pine Siskins!

Yep, it's been a while since I've last posted.  And, yep, that means that I've been busy with work.  But I have managed to see a lot of cool stuff over the past few weeks, starting with these infrequent visitors... Pine Siskins were seen at our feeders from this past Saturday through the MLK holiday.  And although there were only three of them (feeding with American and Lesser Goldfinches), they were around OFTEN.  And for all I know, they may have been around for a week before then and may still be around now (having to leave for work by 8 am is such a drag).  While they've been here before, it's never been for more than a ... (read more)

Happy New Year!

I've been a bit of a slack lately and I apologize for that.  I'm back to six-day work weeks now, so it's not like it's COMPLETELY due to laziness.  I thought I'd start this installment out with a nice picture of an Anna's Hummingbird, a species that I don't get good photos of often... Female Anna's Hummingbird The past week and a half has been pretty good.  No Red-breasted Sapsucker sightings or Pine Siskins, or anything super-exciting.  Just a nice steady dose of regulars and an occasional Varied Thrush.  Our friend the Song Sparrow has been stopping by to munch on millet and our silly Ruby-crowned Kinglet is still snacking ... (read more)

Merry Christmas!

Yes, that's right.  None of that politically-correct, secular-progressive "Happy Holidays" bullcrap on MY web site.  It's CHRISTmas time, baby!  And what a time we're having here at the feeders.  Life has been good and I have a number of really nice photos to share in this installment. Male Downy Woodpecker Lesser Goldfinches Woodpeckers and Lesser Goldfinches have been eating here like crazy over the past week.  After two "down" weeks, Northern Flickers and Downy Woodpeckers have made a huge comeback.  The former have been been especially numerous.  And we had one very special treat ... (read more)

New Camera

Well, as I promised last time, here are some photos taken from the house with my new Nikon D40x with a Nikkor 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6 AF-S VR lens... Ruby-crowned Kinglet Dark-eyed (Oregon) Junco Anna's Hummingbird (yeah, I know, I needed to use the exposure compensation) American Crow Brown Creeper American Goldfinches Lesser Goldfinches Black-capped Chickadee Chestnut-backed Chickadee Bushtit Townsend's Warbler Yellow-rumped (Audubon's) Warbler Varied Thrush I'd say those are just a wee bit better than what my PowerShot SD450 could do, doncha think? Not too much has changed over the past ... (read more)

C-c-cold!

Having grown up in the Chicago area and having spent most of my life in the Midwest, I'm no stranger to cold winters.  However, after being pampered for the past three years in Southeast Texas and Western Oregon, my tolerance for the cold has gone south (no pun intended).  My fingertips were frozen numb after spending no more than 5 minutes refilling feeders in this morning's (gasp!) 33-degree temperatures.  As I type this, my fingertips, toes, and nose are all freezing in my 68-degree home.  Thankfully, the birds are a bit tougher than I am.  And they come out in droves when the temperature drops... Oregon Juncos eat off of a ... (read more)

One Year of Record-Keeping

Last week, I promised that the next installment would be more in-depth.  So as promised... The ever-paranoid Western Scrub-jay finally stands still long enough for a good photo. The second weekend of November is the annual kick-off of FeederWatch, which is sort of an ornithologist geek equivalent of the NFL kickoff weekend.  And while I still prefer Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison to Pine Siskins and Myrle Warblers (no, the West Coast hasn't completely taken away my manhod), I've found that counting and documenting birds is a nice complement to my weekend football-viewing (the TV is in the same room as my main viewing area).  And ... (read more)

Back To Normal

Well, things have gotten back to normal after the insane sightings of two weeks ago.  Not only have I not seen Purple Finches or Golden-crowned Kinglets recently, but the flocks of 30-50 American Goldfinches have dissipated into more reasonable flocks of 6-15.  While I enjoy hosting flocks of birds, the mess caused by 50 perpetually-pooping Goldfinches can be a bit much to deal with. Female Northern Flicker dining on... sunflower chips?  Yep, I had never seen it before, either. However, after disappearing for a while, Lesser Goldfinches have returned (1-3 at a time).  Brown Creepers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and a female ... (read more)

A Tremendous Weekend

I'm relatively tired right now, but wanted to take the time to document my tre-MEN-dous (as Jim Rome would say) backyard birding weekend (10/20-10/21).  It was easily the best I've had since... uh... pretty much ever. Female and/or juvenile Purple Finches (middle and bottom right) feeding with a flock of American Goldfinches. I'm just going to let my weekend tally speak for itself.  The quantity designates the number of individuals present at one time... Sharp-shinned Hawk (1 male, feeding on Goldfinches) Anna's Hummingird (2, both sexes) Downy Woodpecker (1, both sexes) Northern Flicker (1, both sexes, feeding on suet) Steller's ... (read more)

They're Back...

With the cold and rain that October brings, some old familiar faces have also made appearances lately.  In addition to the year-round visits of Western Scrub-Jays, the closely-related Steller's Jays have come down from the hilly pine forests to dine on peanuts at our residence.  Their not-so-melodious "Blaaah, blaaah, blaaah!" call was a welcome, if imperfect, morning greeting this past weekend.  The sharp, piercing "Peer!" of the Northern Flicker, another species that breeds up in the hills, has also been heard over the past week.  The familiar large female ("Big Mamma") and a smaller male (presumably the ... (read more)

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