Checking outdoors activity just before a planned afternoon nap, I saw about five Golden-crowned kinglets in the yard and decided to attempt a quick trip outdoors to try to obtain photographs. I only got one or two photos but by then I was into the activity in the yard and stayed for about an hour.

I tallied seven different sparrow species in the yard… House, Fox, Song, White-crowned, Golden-crowned, Spotted towhees and Dark-eyed juncos (Oregon race). (We are overwhelmed by House sparrows thanks to non-discriminating neighbors who provide housing but less favorable habitat and less nutritious food than we do! The House sparrow activity dissuaded the kinglets and warbler from visiting the watercourse.)

Here is a comparison between two of what I consider the more difficult sparrow species to distinguish apart, the Fox sparrow (top photo) and the Song sparrow (bottom photo)…. both occasionally known as “little brown birds”. These birds are not especially gregarious and we apparently have only one of each.

We had at least one beautiful male Anna’s hummingbird in the yard (and a female or subadult as well).

We have a covey of at least 20 California quail that visit the yard daily and I was able to get this photo of two males above our stone bird bath.

Finally, while photographing all of the other activity in the yard, I was somewhat startled by this beautiful Yellow-rumped warbler that made about three appearances in the yard. This is the only good photo I was able to obtain, but it was good enough for me. Farther out in the yard I spied what were probably two additional Yellow-rumped warblers.

On Wednesday, December 1, 2022, we had temperatures at or just above freezing (with frozen bird baths) and substantial winds all day. I saw very few birds in the yard. 

The next day, December 2, the temperatures were slightly warmer and the winds had abated somewhat. We had a plumber scheduled to reconnect a radiator so I was somewhat occupied with his activities, but from my expanded office where the work was beng done I had an excellent view of the yard. 

It was difficult to remain inside as I could see a large number of birds in the yard, some of which were interesting and I would have loved to photograph. I finally broke from the work project and went outside to try to photograph some of the birds.  Once I was outside the activity subsided somewhat, so I didn’t get that many great photos. 

I made a list of the birds I observed… 24 species!  

Here are a few of my better photographs…