Lisa

Activity 1 I watched a group of Oak Titmice with great admiration and amusement. The group descended in to an oak tree. So many can fit in there but they are so tiny you can hardly see them from a distance. Such a cute bird with a lot of personality. They were crawling all over the branches and many were hanging upside down. I learned that this is their method of foraging for insects. Oak Titmice can also open nuts by holding them with their feet and pecking with their bill. I have not seen this yet but will be watching for it.

Certain birds come around every evening at this time of year and from practice I can identify some of their songs. The Mourning Dove, California Scrub-Jay, American Crow are very distinct. It is nice to hear the Common Raven’s croak. The Dark-eyed Junco, the Spotted Towhee and the Bewick’s Wren have unique songs. The California Quail make their ca CAA ca and kissing sounds. When I hear drumming the  Nuttall’s Woodpecker is usually near. The Red-shouldered Hawk’s screech can not be mistaken.

The 2020 Great Backyard Bird Count started my bird watching.  I received an email about it and felt this was something we just had to do. At first eBird and Merlin a bit confusing but now are everyday essentials. My interest continued thanks to a mystery bird that sang every morning right outside my window. I started every day saying who is that bird! I would go to work and talk about this to my coworker and sing the call. Finally one day I could show him a picture in Merlin of the Dark-eyed Junko and play the exact song I had been singing. Now my husband and I sit outside every evening and watch birds. I am recovering from surgery and this has helped me connect to the outdoors. I think the birds recognize us and they come up on the deck to say hello. It will be great when I can go to different locations to bird watch. Another goal is to add more native plants to our yard to make a better habitat. Starting a journal is another plan. There are lots of observations like why did we not have Mockingbirds here this year or noticing that the Quail visit different locations in the neighborhood that can be noted. Our coffee is organic and fair trade but there is a whole lot more to know about how coffee is grown. A brief search brought up articles from The Cornell Lab, Smithsonian Institution, National Audubon Society and more. This is just the beginning of a really interesting, enjoyable and planet positive   new direction. Thank you!

Activities 1,2,3 Merlin’s Likely Bird list has been extremely useful. I have seen quite a few of the birds that are likely year round visitors. I made a list of resident likely birds that I had not seen and studied the photos, habits and songs. One day I saw a bird walking the side of our palm tree and remembered that one bird on my list did this. Sure enough when I found that description again it was the right bird, the White-breasted Nuthatch. The distinctive song of the Bewick’s Wren helped make a positive identification when confused by all the small grayish birds. Small gray and brown birds have been the most confusing for me to identify. Before sunset they all show up, flitting between trees, fences and the ground. They mix together on the ground and the late light can mask colors. I just take a good look and sometimes wait to add to a checklist. I also made a list of seasonal visitors from the Likely Bird list. It really helps to have an idea of what you are looking for. I had been watching for the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher for a while. One day there he was on the wire looking just like his picture. Now he sometimes lands right on the deck railing. I was surprised to catch a glimpse of a tiny black and white bird in a big honeysuckle bush. There was a bird like this on my list and looking through Likely Birds Found the Black-throated Gray Warbler. I have seen him a few more times in the same bush.

My favorite birding spot is home in California. Right now we are seeing a lot of House Fiches, Oak Titmouse, Mourning Dove, Turkey Vulture, Spotted Towhee, Dark-eyed Junco, Anna’s Hummingbird, American Crow, California Towhee, Red-shouldered Hawk, Bushtit, Raven, Western Bluebird, Song Sparrow, California Quail, Lesser Goldfinch to name some frequent visitors. I used a combination of EBird local checklists by date, Merlin likely birds and the Audubon ap to determine what birds I might see in January that are not visiting now. It seems I could begin watching for these birds later in the fall. Fox Sparrow, not on Merlin likely bird list, but Audubon shows this bird common here in the winter. The Golden -crowned Sparrow is a yearly winter visitor. Yellow-rumpled Warbler, considered rare but possible by Merlin. More likely in the winter than now. Townsend’s Warbler is also considered rare but is on the Merlin likely bird list. More likely to see in January than now. Ruby Crowned Kinglet should be visible in the winter. Say’s Phoebe are more scarce now but more likely in winter. I thought I saw one early spring so it will be nice to watch for this bird again.

I watched the birds cams for the first time and they are amazing! The Red Tail Hawk cam showed first attempts at flight. The cam at Sapsucker Woods is very busy! There were a lot of Starlings, a Nuttall’s Woodpecker, a Mourning Dove, a Red Winged Blackbird, and a Blue Jay while I watched.

My new favorite bird is the Black Phoebe. We only noticed it here recently, perched in the distance. At first it seemed to be just grey and we could not figure out what it was. After looking for a few days we determined it was sized between a sparrow and a crow, had a blacker head and white on it’s belly. The tail was narrow and also black. Merlin helped us make the positive ID. It will perch for a while then swoop down. There seem to be two. We are still watching to learn more about this bird.