I got out into the yard about 2pm on November 9, 2020, when I noticed from inside the house that the yard was absolutely filled with birds. The day was heavily overcast with not a lot of light but I decided to give photography a try. I was in the yard for maybe an hour and a half and during the entire time the yard was full of birds. I can’t overstate how many robins and siskins we had continuously coming and going.
These are the birds I saw:
Robin, American (≥ 30)
There are lots of opportunities in the neighborhood for birds to eat madrone berries. We have a few trees in the yard with berries rapidly disappearing. While a few robins availed themselves of our berries most were interested in our water features. This robin was eyeing some of the madrone berries.
Siskin, Pine (≥ 20)
Woodpecker, Hairy (m)
Woodpecker, Downy (m)
Nuthatch, Red-breasted
Creeper, Brown (x2)
I was fortunate in that a crowd at this bird’s favorite watering feature (a stone bird bath) induced it to move to the watercourse, which is much closer to me. It also gave me the opportunity for better photographs than I usually get.
Wren, Bewick’s
This wren was a reliable visitor to our suet feeder all summer long, and the frequency of its visits led me to believe that it may have been feeding the suet to its young. It was usually content to glean fallen bits of suet that had fallen from our inverted feeder to the ground, but it was capable of accessing the feeder directly. On this day it was eating hulled sunflower seed I had thrown on the ground for other birds.
Warbler, Yellow-rumped (f/j)
This was a surprise visitor in the winter and our first warbler in some time! It was interested in the watercourse but the traffic there was apparently too great and it moved on with me just missing the opportunity for a photo.
Thrush, Varied (m, x2)
Crossbill, Red (f, 2f)
A single female/juvenile crossbill first visited the stone water feature and later a pair of females visited the watercourse. The male of this group has been a very rare visitor.
Flicker, Northern (m, f)
Chickadee, Black-capped
Chickadee, Chestnut-backed
Towhee, Spotted (≥2)
Junco, Dark-eyed – Oregon
Junco, Dark-eyed – Oregon (leucistic)
This leucistic bird has been with us for 2-3 weeks now and is an unreliable visitor. If I’m lucky I may get one sighting in a 2-3 hour sitting, but the bird is very shy, doesn’t stay long when it visits and flies from the yard at any provocation.
Sparrow, Golden-crowned (≥ 6)
Sparrow, White-crowned
Sparrow, House (m, f)
Finch, House (m, f)
Owl, Barred
The previous day (11/8/2020) I discovered a Barred owl in the Cap Sante wetland, maybe about three blocks northeast of us as the crow flies. The owl was in the open but had managed to keep a few small branches and leaves between me and any place I could reasonably take photos. I did manage a few photos but it was late in the day, it was overcast and there wasn’t a lot of light.
I returned the next morning to see if I could find the owl but it was not in evidence. After my time in the yard this afternoon I returned to the wetland. I told myself I would increase my chances of finding the owl by not taking my camera along. It worked! The owl was back sitting on the same branch within a few feet of where it had been the previous day, but still behind one or two small branches so that I didn’t have an unobstructed view! I could have gone back for my camera but it was already getting too late for photos.