Since I’m staying home all day due to the ongoing pandemic emergency, I’ve decided to document all the different species of birds that arrive in my yard. I am not a great bird photographer but I am enjoying practicing every day.
This will be my last post of 2020 and frankly this year cannot be over soon enough; I hope you are all safe and well. We will pick up in 2021 with more fabulous adventures in coding!
As always, click on any image for a larger version.
Anna’s hummingbird — the only hummingbird that stays in the Pacific Northwest all year round. The male has an iridescent magenta head depending on what angle you look at it; the female has just a few iridescent spots.
Bald eagle — this juvenile showed up in my yard for just a few seconds on election day; fortunately I had my camera handy. Bald eagles do not get their characteristic white head until they are four years old.
Bewick’s wren — I’ve only seen this bird once at my feeder this year; they are easily identified by the prominent white eyebrow stripe.
Black-capped chickadee — messy eaters. We also get chestnut-backed chickadees in the area but I have not seen one in my yard yet.
Bushtit — they travel in flocks of a dozen or more and mob suet feeders for a few minutes before flying off. Super cute, and they fly like they’re constantly about to fall out of the sky.
California scrub jay — tends to fly in, get in a fight with a bunch of much larger Steller’s jays, and leave.
Crow — looks thoroughly metal on a windy day.
Downy woodpecker — easily confused with the hairy woodpecker, which I have not yet seen in my yard. The male has a red cap. The smallest North American woodpecker.
Eastern grey squirrel — HEY YOU’RE NOT A BIRD; GET OUT OF THE BIRD FEEDER
European starling — super invasive, super aggressive, but very pretty little dinosaurs.
House finch — the males are somewhat red, the females are tricky to tell apart from other finches.
Northern flicker — the most common woodpecker in the Pacific Northwest; we typically see the “red-shafted” variety which is in fact orange-shafted. This is a female; the male has a red spot on the face.
Oregon junco — this is the Pacific Northwest coloring of the dark-eyed junco. One of the most common feeder birds.
Pine siskin — these little finches look a lot like house finches but they have a yellow flash on their wings. They tend to arrive in groups.
Raven — tis the wind and nothing more. A rare sight in my backyard.
Robin — lives in constant disdain. Not to be confused with the spotted towhee, who thinks you are awesome.
Spotted towhee — looks a bit like a robin, but thinks you are great and that you should give yourself more credit for dealing with a difficult situation this year.
Steller’s jay — the classic Pacific Northwest blue jay. Noisy and territorial. But lovely plumage.
And that’s all the birds in my backyard in the last few months that I managed to get a picture of.
Have a safe and festive holiday season, but not too festive; we want you and your relatives around for more fabulous adventures in 2021!
Fabulous adventures in coding 