12-MAY-2010
Black-headed Grosbeak #5465
Pheucticus melanocephalus
Another new bird! We see both Evening Grosbeaks and Black-headed Grosbeaks fairly commonly in this area, with Pine Grosbeaks and Blue Grosbeaks much less often. The males and females differ significantly in their plumage, but the distinct markings on the face of this first-year male bird are hard to miss -- I have not seen any adult males yet, but I'll be on the lookout.
11-MAY-2010
Brown-headed Cowbird (Female) #5369
This is another bird I have not seen or photographed before -- it is a female Brown-headed Cowbird. They are not considered to be desirable birds (they leave eggs in the nests of other birds), but I found it interesting to look up this one in the books and figure out what I was seeing. Today was extremely windy, and only the most persistent birds spent much time out in the open.
10-MAY-2010
Yellow Warbler #5167
Here is another (new for me) bird -- at first I thought I was seeing an Orange-crowned Warbler, but this bird is much yellower, and has orange streaks on his breast. Like other warblers, he does a lot of hopping and jumping around from place to place, taking short flights from one bush to another, and I have even seen him pause to take a bath in the pond.
09-MAY-2010
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) #5061
Dendroica coronata auduboni
We have been enjoying seeing Yellow-rumped Warbler's for the last couple of weeks. A posting from a few days back
([click here}) shows one of these Warblers of the Myrtle group (having a white throat patch), and this one is a typical representative of the Audubon group (with a yellow throat patch). We see both kinds here, and they will even interbreed, giving us some that are not easily classified as one or the other.
08-MAY-2010
House Finch #4867
It has been a few weeks since I have shown any of our (very common) House Finches. They have pretty much paired up, a male and a female arriving and departing at the feeder together. The males are much less tolerant of each other now than they were in the winter. This one is sitting on a pine tree branch waiting his turn at the feeder.
07-MAY-2010
Western Tanager #4732
We have seen Western Tanagers three or four times in the last week -- yesterday there was a flock of a dozen or so flying by. Today we had one visit on two or three separate occasions. I don't think we'll tire of these fellows, as I think they are very striking birds.
06-MAY-2010
Song Sparrow #4387
Song Sparrows are not very common here, and this is the first time I have ever seen one. This bird sat patiently in the shade of the pear tree, on the fence, for quite some time. Then, after about five minutes, it flew off. I saw one again early on (tomorrow) Fri 5/7/2010, foraging around on the ground, but did not have camera ready at the time.
05-MAY-2010
House Sparrow #4213
Today was another day where almost all the birds going by were finches. House Sparrows, such as this female, are also around, but they tend to stay near the ground foraging for seed droppings left by the finches. This one hopped up on a rock and so was awarded my picture for the day.
04-MAY-2010
American Goldfinch #3992
All the birds that visited us today were finches -- American Goldfinches, Lesser Goldfinches, Pine Siskins, a Cassin's Finch, and an Evening Grosbeak. I would not mind a bit more variety, but I am learning to be patient.
03-MAY-2010
American Goldfinch (Female) #3911
I think almost all the American Goldfinches have completed their molting. Although they are not as
richly colored as the males, even the females have quite a pleasing appearance.I also would have thought they would have left for cooler summer climates, but we seem
to be keeping a fair number around. Dozens of these pretty birds visit us every day.
02-MAY-2010
Black-chinned Hummingbird #3858
We get both Black-chinned Hummingbirds and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds during the spring and summer months. The Black-chinned have deep purple iridescent throat feathers when the sunlight hits them right, whereas the Broad-tailed Hummingbirds are red. Other pictures I have posted here don't show the pretty purple feathers, so I thought this was a good example.