It took a while, but spring is finally here — though it still seems to be fighting with winter. I knew that the nice weekend we had in early March was just a folly, but I did not think that it would be this tough! After some nice weather the birds started to move, only to be stopped by more bad weather. Migration is slow, but the birds are slowly trickling in. Earlier this week, I wrote about my birding trips that involved migrating birds and fallout. Today I want to share some of my local year-round residents and new arrivals.
Sparrows
The Song Sparrows are filling the air with the variety of their tunes!
Song Sparrow
Juncos have been hanging around in full force. I get over 20 at a time under my feeders. I am glad they they do not eat from the feeders otherwise they would clean me out! I had multiple incidents where over 30 Juncos would fly from one single area. They are everywhere!
Dark-eyed Juncos
I enjoyed the songs of Fox Sparrows for the first time. They hung around for over two weeks and I had up to six at a time near my creek when they flew right at.
One of many Fox Sparrows who passed through
Finches
I still have some Pine Siskins hanging around at the feeders with the Goldfinches (who, by the way are starting to look very gold!).
Pine Siskin
The lingering Redpolls wish they moved on sooner. I suppose they learned the hard way that staying south did not mean sunshine and warm weather.
Common Redpoll in a rain storm
My newest feeder-bird arrival is the Purple Finch. I started with just one for about a week and yesterday I had three pairs.
Purple Finch
Waterfowl
Every walk at the creek produces at least one Common Merganser. I was able to get pretty close to them at times just by staying still near the edge of the woods.
Male Common Merganser
Female Common Merganser
For the first time, I had Geese across the street from me. I think the creek was too high and rough for them so they wandered a little bit in search for food.
Canada Geese across the street
Woodpeckers
The Pileated Woodpeckers seem to be a bit less shy then usual when they are looking for insects.
Pileated Woodpecker
Since I had no tripod I layed down on the ground across from him and used a stump and my knees to keep the camera steady so that I could shoot this video
I’m pretty sure that I found the nesting cavity for my local Red-bellied Woodpeckers. They are hanging around this tree and especially this cavity an awful lot!
Red-bellied Woodpecker at possible Nest
Other local birds
The air is also full of the loud songs of my Carolina Wrens.
Singing Carolina Wren
Brown Creepers are everywhere.
Brown Creeper
And last week marked the return of my favorite flycatcher, the Phoebe.
Eastern Phoebe
This past weekend I also had a long-awaited yard bird: while standing in my driveway talking to a friend an adult Bald Eagle flew low following along the creek. This happened not ten minutes after my friend and I were talking about having Eagles as yard birds. Talking about being at the right place at the right time!
Last December, I entered a photo into Project FeederWatch’s BirdSpotter contest on Facebook. The photo did not win, but it received recognition from Cornell and plenty of kudos from fans. That day, I received a private message from an editor of the National Wildlife Magazine who was interested in using the photo for an article. I didn’t get my hopes up yet because the image was not the best quality and probably not good enough to print. I sent the photo over and it turned out that the photo was usable! I was told that it would appear with a story about summer bird feeding in the April/May 2013 issue. I still did not want to get too excited because it all seemed to good to be true.
Then yesterday, the magazine showed up in my mail box. I saw my photo as soon as I opened the magazine – it ended up on the centerfold article! It really happened! I was published in a national magazine!
So, how about some back-story on this photo? It almost seems too perfect to have happened and I’ve been accused of it being photoshopped many times; but it really was a lot of patience and especially luck.
In 2010, I moved from central New Jersey to upstate New York. The decision to move was made easier because the company that I work for, Local Wisdom agreed to let me work from home. In the absence of people, I decided to make the best of my new situation by putting my desk downstairs near my sliding glass doors. I immediately purchased bird feeders that were visible from my desk and so began my love of birds. I made sure my set up was ideal for both working in a relaxing environment and having maximum exposure to my yard. I always have my camera facing out the window, even on poorly lit days because you just never know what will show up.
My home office, with camera set up to face outside
On warmer days, I set up outside for even more exposure and a better overall view of my yard.
My outdoor office, on a second story deck, taken with my HTC Thunderbolt
This set up paid off a few times where I was able to get photos that I would have otherwise missed. From new yard birds to Warblers who perched for only a few seconds; a rare Hoary Redpoll who disappeared after four snaps; and the most colorful photo that I have ever taken.
Indigo Bunting, Northern Cardinal, American Goldfinch, Baltimore Oriole
Too bad I was not 100% prepared for it! At the time, I was aiming to get a photo of my most colorful birds. I was zoomed out because my original yellow bird was a Yellow Warbler who would often perch on the branches to the right. I kept coming close to the perfect photo with female Goldfinches instead of male. Still very lucky, but not what I really wanted!
The photo taken right before my all-male photo
This was taken only a few seconds before my prized photo. The female was not cooperating enough and never made it to the feeders, but then a male flew in and I quickly took another photo.
The original uncropped photo
Then I zoomed in and took another one… and he was gone.
Three Colorful Males and a Chickadee
The Goldfinches were much more fidgety than the other birds. But the Cardinal and Oriole seemed to not want to pose anymore either. Any more attempts after that only resulted in three colorful birds, not four. But hey, I won’t complain about it!
Goldfinches, Indigo Bunting and Baltimore Oriole
Always be ready, you never know what surprises you may catch!
Sparrows are a family of bird that we are all familiar with. In North America, we can blame the non-native Eurasian Sparrow who is a very widespread and invasive bird.
House Sparrow, the Non-Sparrow
This Sparrow is not, in fact, related to our Sparrows. Ours are more related to old world buntings. I am lucky to only have a few visitors every now and then rather than larger numbers that often raid feeders. This invasive bird seems to prefer my neighbors feeders instead!
Now on to the true American Sparrows. You may think that they are just another “little brown job,” but look closely and see that they can be very unique and beautiful. I get three yeah-round residents, the Song Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow and Dark-eyed Junco.
Song Sparrow in the winter
Song Sparrow in the spring
White-throated Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow, tan morph
Dark-eyed Junco
The numbers increase greatly during migration, but I get a few who stick around throughout the winter. My other winter sparrow is the American Tree Sparrow who I am still trying to get a good photo of.
American Tree Sparrow on my snow-covered deck
During the summer, my feeders are raided with Chipping Sparrows. They are my one summer-only Sparrow that I have actually seen on my yard. The other two summer sparrows are ones that I heard only from my yard, Field Sparrows and Eastern Towhees.
Chipping Sparrow
The Chipping Sparrows typically come in full force once their young fledge! They are the one sparrow that I get to enjoy watching as they feed their young.
Chipping Sparrow Fledgling
Chipping Sparrow adult feeding young
Other young birds have also found their way to my yard. I did not realize that I had breeding Juncos in my woods until I finally saw some young ones during the summer!
Immature Dark-eyed Junco
Dark-eyed Junco Fledgling
I also spotted young White-throated Sparrows foraging around.
Immature White-throated Sparrow
Along with my more usual visitors already mentioned, I get two types of Sparrows who move through during migration only. This White-throated Sparrow was my first one!
White-crowned Sparrow
And my favorite local sparrow seems to visit once per migration season, the Fox Sparrow.
Fox Sparrow during Fall migration
There are other great local sparrow species that I cannot call yard birds due to their need for specific habitat, but maybe one day they will pass through and I can add them to my growing list.
I always keep an eye on my flocks of Common Redpolls that show up in hopes of finding the more rare Hoary migrant. I had some false alarms in the past, but when I saw one for the first time, I just knew it was a Hoary.
My first Hoary Redpoll, re-posted
This frosty bird caught my eye and I was lucky to snap a few photos before he disappeared into the flock of over 100 Redpolls. I failed to relocate him again. Ever since, I put my binoculars up at any Redpoll that seems frosty, but it is always just my eyes playing tricks on me due to the lighting and reflection of the snow on the ground. I figured that this was a one-time sighting for the season.
Today, however, I noticed another frosty bird that was not quite like the others. I immediately grabbed my binoculars and the flash of a white-rump flew away. It flew back into my hanging tray feeder and then flew away quickly. I set my camera up to try to get it, but the bird was just too quick. While all of the Common Redpolls would stick around, this one would grab a seed and run. It kept flying up to a pine that borders the woods and eventually made it’s way into my closer tree. I snapped a few shots so that I could prove my ID. They came out a bit out-of-focus but are usable.
My second Hoary Redpoll
Extremely frosty on the back, thin streaking, small red cap, stubby bill, white undertail coverts and a whiter rump. I determined this to be a first year Hoary due to the buffy cheeks. I had high hopes that it would stick around because, even when the Commons left, it would continue to go back and forth from the tray to the pine.
And then all of the birds hurried away and a somewhat larger bird came in, chasing what looked like my Hoary Redpoll. The Redpoll got away and the predator perched in a tree.
Sharp-shinned Hawk
It was a Sharp-shinned Hawk in transitional plumage. The Accipiters that I get usually fly away at the slightest motion from inside but this one would not budge. I even went out on my deck and it didn’t mind. The Hawk stayed perched in my tree as some of the smaller birds started to return. It made another attempt at a Chickadee, missed and flew off.
The larger flock of Redpolls, including the Hoary, have not returned since.
On Saturday, I counted birds for the Great Backyard Bird Count in my yard and surrounding areas. The Common Redpoll really took over the spotlight for me. I had a large flock of very cooperative birds. In my past experience these birds would fly away at the slightest noise, so I had a hard time shooting them without a window in between my lens and the bird. On Saturday, however, I was able to go out on my deck and shoot them from about ten feet away from the tree. They didn’t mind my presence and did not flinch when I would move my camera around. It was a bright overcast day, so lighting was pretty good.
Common Redpoll
Common Redpoll
Common Redpoll
I finally have some “split” photos that came out clear too. It seems as though all previous attempts would come out just out of focus!
Common Redpoll
I even managed to get some photos that were good enough to crop for close-ups. While this will never make print, it works pretty well for the web.
Common Redpoll cropped
I also had some Pine Siskins mixed in with the Redpolls. It seems like their numbers are getting higher again. It would be nice for them to pass by in the same numbers as they did in the fall.
Pine Siskin
Some of the more common birds that I always try to get photos of are two of my favorites – the Nuthatches. I have a Northeastern Nuthatch sweep pretty much every day, but I never get tired of them!
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
My best non-photographic highlight were all of the Woodpeckers! I stood in the woods on the border of my yard just watching and listening to the Woodpeckers for about twenty minutes. I had drumming from three different sized birds – Pileated, Red-bellied and Downy – all at the same time. I even spotted a female Red-bellied Woodpecker – perhaps a companion to the male that I see everyday?
I’m going to start a series on my blog for Backyard Birds with a journal full of related birds who are regular visitors or have shown up in my yard. My official yard list is 85 species – this includes 72 species who actually landed in my yard (feeders, trees, grass) with the rest seen flying over and a few who I’ve only heard from my yard. I’ll start with Woodpeckers and allies in the Picidae family.
For the longest time, I only had two regular species, the Downy and Hairy Woodpecker. I can get a few pairs at a time on a good day!
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
These two often lead to identification problems since they basically look the same to the untrained eye, and have subtle size differences. They visit so often that I was actually able to get some photos of them in the same frame for better comparison.
A comparison of a Hairy and Downy Woodpecker
I’ve had Red-bellied Woodpeckers show up from time-to-time, but not enough to call them regulars until this past fall. Though, something weird happened – for a couple of weeks, I only had a female visiting.
Red-bellied Woodpecker female
Then suddenly a male showed up and the female disappeared. I have not seen her since, but I do see him pretty much every day now. The change happened in a couple of days, so it was not molting changes! I wonder what happened?
Red-bellied Woodpecker male
I also had Northern Flickers show up around my yard – in the trees or on the ground looking for ants, but I never had one on my feeders. And I am still waiting to get a great shot of them!
Northern Flicker
Also, during migration, I tend to get Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers passing by. They tend to stick around the trees that border the woods, so I lack a good backyard photo. I guess the trees around my yard are not sappy enough for them, even though it seems to pour out of a few in the fall.
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers
And last, but far from being least, is the most desired Woodpecker in my area. I often hear Pileated Woodpeckers and see them in my woods. And then one day I caught this male on my feeders! Even though I see them all the time, this was a one-time occurrence. Though, I do not leave suet in that same cage feeder anymore (I now have all suet hanging near my deck, out of the sun)
This Pileated Woodpecker found my feeder!
I have yet to have a Red-headed Woodpecker visit and have only seen them twice – once was in my county! They are a bit rare for my area, but I am hoping for my yard to attract one some day soon!
In the summer, I am graced with the young ones from my Downy and Hairy couples – and hopefully this summer my Red-bellied will find a mate and also bring his young. They tend to feed right under my deck – in the safety of cover. It is quite a treat to see!
Hairy Woodpecker with fledglings at a feeder under my deck
Hairy Woodpecker feeding fledgling on my deck
The Woodpeckers share such tender moments with their young, by they can be pretty feisty to both each other….
Downy Woodpeckers dual on a branch at my feeders
And to other larger birds…
Hairy Woodpecker trying to fight off a Blue Jay.
Hairy Woodpecker trying to fight off a Starling.
All-in-all, I really enjoy my Woodpecker visitors and I hope you did too!
Many feeders in the US have been graced with the presence of Common Redpolls by the dozens and even hundreds. I know one family who had up to 300 birds show up to their very attractive yard. I had a few days where there were over 100 on my feeders, trees and the ground below both. It was tough to even get a rough estimate because they would move around so fast and fly away at the smallest disturbance.
To get an idea of what my yard was like, here is a quick video that I shot through my window:
It took some time to get some great photos. I started by shooting from inside the house through my sliding glass doors. Quality remains pretty decent, but having window glass between L-series lens glass does degrade it a bit for larger sizes.
Shot through my sliding doors.
A great perch right outside my sliding doors.
One of my early photos on a snowy day shot through my sliding doors.
You have to be careful with flocks this large. I had one bird who would stick around after the flock left. I have a feeling that she was sick. I cleaned my feeders that night just in case.
Shot from the top deck right over her.
And finally I had a decent-sized flock on a sunny day. I slowly made my way onto my deck and snapped away at the birds from the far side so that I did not disturb them.
Shot from my deck.
Shot from my deck with some Christmas lights for size comparison.
Shot from my deck.
Whenever the large flocks would come, I would try to look for a more frosty bird in hopes of finding a Hoary Redpoll. It was tough to sift through them because they would move so fast. Finally, out of the corner of my eye I saw this almost white-looking bird on top of my pole system. My camera was already pointed at the feeders so I picked it up and snapped away. The photos came out much better than I expected!
I grabbed my camera as soon as I saw this more frosty Redpoll and snapped away. Within 5 seconds he was mixed in the flock never to be relocated again.
