So what does a self-propelled lawnmower have to do with birding?  It’s a tortured relationship, but I’ll attempt to explain…

At the time we built on our property, adjacent to city parkland,  we determined that we would try to create good habitat for birds and other wildlife.  To that end I created an ‘artificial’ brush pile… in the front yard.  I constructed a pen-type structure made of livestock fencing… welded rod in a lattice pattern with 4″ squares.  I then filled the structure with a few logs on the bottom and a lot of brush on top of that, finally topping the structure with a roof of the same fencing.  I then surrounded the entire structure with more brush which is augmented from time to time with small limbs that are blown out of our fir trees.

The rationale was that the structure would provide a safe haven for birds… they can easily go through the 4″ squares, but predators such as raccoons cannot reach the interior of the sanctuary.  The brush pile has worked spectacularly and is the favorite location for many of the birds in the yard… even more popular than our watercourse.

So this morning I was filling bird feeders in the front yard and glanced over towards the brush pile and discovered the lawnmower pictured below, faithfully removing grass from around the brush pile.

Self-Powered Lawnmower!

Since this is at least the second time we’ve sen this ‘lawnmower’ recently, and the previous time it was on the other side of the brush pile, I’m guessing that it has found a sanctuary in our yard.  But life is fraught with uncertainty, and just two evenings ago we had a very healthy coyote in the yard and we have two Great Horned owls living in the neighborhood.  Both parties would like to acquire our lawnmower!

And just to add a little interest, this afternoon I spent some time outside on an overcast day and after the light was well past its prime, but I was able to photograph a male Rufous hummingbird in the yard… both bathing in the watercourse and feeding on the Red current blossoms.

Male Rufous Hummingbird

Male Rufous Hummingbird bathing in watercourse

Male Rufous Hummingbird feeding on Red Current blossoms

Life is good… here’s looking at you!

Pine Siskin

On the evening of April 1, 2013, at 6:50pm (still good light) I was sitting at the dining room table when movement in the yard to the south of us caught my attention.  I looked up and saw a large, hairy, gray animal in the yard.  Several things raced through my mind… a reflection of something in the glass, the neighbors’ dog (which is not allowed to run unattended) but I suddenly realized that I was looking at a very healthy-looking coyote.  It was sniffing something on the ground inside our partially-fenced yard and only about 25 feet from the house.

One of our cats is an inside/outside cat (who has started spending more time outside with the nicer weather) and, not knowing where she was, I jumped up and rushed outside.  It was probably a good thing I did… our thirteen-year old diabetic (two insulin shots per day) cat was frozen in her chair out on the patio.  I chased the coyote off (it ran into the woods to the southwest of us) and the cat sprinted for the door, probably averting disaster!

We’ve lived in the neighborhood about twelve years and seen coyotes a handful of times over the years, but this is absolutely the closest one to the house we’ve seen.  But I suspect they probably come through the yard later at night from time to time.

This last week we had a rabbit adjacent to our brush pile in the front ’yard’.  That’s also a rather rare sighting and the closest we’ve seen a rabbit to the house since we lived in this location.

You’re probably thinking this web site is supposed to be about birding, and you’re right… so let’s get to them!  One of our neighbors last week found one of the Great Horned owls that’s been frequenting our neighborhood for at least the past couple of months, high in a tree in the forest behind the amphitheater.  We both obtained photographs, but due to the distance, the lack of light and some back-lighting, my photos came out very grainy.  I hear a pair of the owls calling early almost every morning and evening.  And a couple of weeks ago neighbors who live down by the wetland discovered one only about 20’ outside their door.  I narrowly missed getting photos of it.

I’ve been spending considerable time photographing birds in the yard lately, in part due to the very good weather we’ve had over the past several days.  We’re overrun with Pine siskins but have a sprinkling of other birds.  We saw our first Turkey vulture on March 31.  I didn’t record our first sighting in 2012 but in 2011 we saw our first Turkey vulture on exactly the same day!

Pine Siskin

We welcomed back a single male California quail on about March 30 and it has become a daily visitor.  I’m still trying to figure out where the quail are in the winter… I’m fairly sure they don’t migrate and almost certainly don’t hibernate (!), but we don’t we have never seen any during winter months.  I’m concerned this year because we usually have a small covey to start with and they raise a goodly number of young… which slowly are reduced in number over the summer.  The fact that we are starting with only a single male may mean that we won’t be watching any chicks this summer.

We still have at least one male and one female Anna’s hummingbird.  The male is a holdover from this past winter.  Both male and female Rufous hummingbirds have arrived for the spring and summer.  For the first time I’m beginning to observe some behavioral differences between the two species when at the feeder.  Just a couple of days ago we had a quick visit by an accipiter while I was sitting in the yard with my camera, but it was unsuccessful in snagging any of the birds in the yard and quickly left, probably after spying me sitting almost directly below it.  I counted at least five Golden-crowned sparrows in the yard yesterday and they all appeared to be acquiring their breeding plumage.  They’ll disappear soon for their breeding grounds further north.

Female Rufous Hummingbird

Male Rufous Hummingbird

We’ve also experiencing our share of woodpeckers… Downy, Hairy and Northern flickers.  The birds are fairly easy to photograph but my preferred photography location isn’t conducive to photographing the birds at their usual location… a dead tree in the yard.  If I want to photograph the woodpeckers I usually have to change my location which gives me a less than ideal opportunity to photograph the smaller, more numerous birds in the yard.

Male Northern Flicker

(All of the Red crossbills that were so plentiful and such frequent visitors into the early winter have abandoned us, but because there were so many last year and they liked our watercourse so much I’m hopeful for an early return.)

Update:

I wrote the preceding paragraph early this morning.  When I returned from lunch, ready for a nap, my wife informed me that there had been a very red bird on one of the bird baths but that she was unable to get to a pair of binoculars fast enough to identify it before it left the yard.  I wearily trudged out to the yard with my camera, vowing to take some time to try and see what she had seen.  Within about ten minutes I took the following photos.  Life is good!

Male Red Crossbill

Female Red Crossbill

I took advantage of the beautiful weather we had today and drove over to Fir Island to see what I could find.  I didn’t have a very good start, but eventually found this Black-capped chickadee (and its mate) excavating a cavity in a tree limb about 20′ off the ground.  I watched as the bird threw several mouthfuls of wood out of the cavity, and it finally gathered a really big beakfull and flew away.  I don’t think this work is progressing in earnest now, but it might be that these birds, like several others, develop several nesting sites and then choose one in which to nest.

Black-capped chickadee excavating nest cavity.

My next acquisition was a Marsh wren at the Rawlins Road access.  The bird announced its presence to anyone listening, and I spent about an hour and a half patiently waiting for the opportunity to photograph it.   Unfortunately the sun was harsh and the photo didn’t come out that well, but just getting any photo of one of these birds can be an accomplishment.

Marsh wren.

My next significant bird was what I’m calling the season’s first Savannah sparrow, photographed at the Jensen access.  There appeared to be only one in the area and I obtained a photo of it.  As the spring progresses this will be a favorite location for these birds.

First Savannah sparrow of the year for me!

I drove down Channel Drive on the way back and found a Golden-crowned sparrow eating parts of the blossoms on what I think was a Salmonberry bush.

Golden-crowned sparrow eating blossoms.

At the beginning of my trip out I had seen a Pied-billed grebe (first one this year for me) at the Cap Sante Marina, but I didn’t stop for photos.  On the way back I swung by the marina and the grebe was gone but a Common loon was in evidence.

Common Loon.

Ahhh… the price we photographers pay!

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was made several trips to the Rawlin’s Road access in January and February trying to obtain some good photos of Short-eared owls.  On one of my trips to the area I noted that the Short-eared owls seemed to be spending much more time in the large field to the north.  I knew there would be a problem crossing the ditch near the access point, but I resolved on one of my visits to cross the ditch and venture across the field in hopes of getting closer to the owls.

I was carrying my camera with large lens mounted and also with my monopod mounted.  This alone weighs about 13 pounds but in addition I was carrying my bag with photo equipment which probably weighs close to another 20-25 pounds.  I found a place where the ditch wasn’t very wide… and attempted to jump across.

Instant disaster!  In the first place I now have an artificial knee, and it doesn’t propel me well nor does it provide a very secure landing.  I had failed to notice that my landing point had a considerable slope to it and was covered in some kind of ‘reedy’ vegetation which, especially when wet, provided a natural sliding surface.  I sort of made it across the ditch, but as soon as I hit the other side I realized that I was off balance and needed to lean forward more.  As I tried to shift my balance point my foot started slipping on the vegetation and I went down on one knee.  I managed to protect my photographic gear but one of my feet slowly sank into the ditch!  Those ditches out there are gross and I didn’t want any part of my body in them, but I was now past that point.  I managed to drag myself up the bank and still protect my photographic gear, but I was a mess by the time I was able to stand.

They say that every cloud has a silver lining, but this cloud’s lining just happened to be gold!  I walked just a couple of feet from where I had fallen in the ditch and flushed an American bittern.  It didn’t fly very far and by some careful maneuvering I was able to obtain a few rather poor photos of it hiding in the reeds.  If you’re a birder you know that this can be a very difficult bird to find due to their excellent camouflage for their habitat and their habit of freezing when anyone is in the vicinity.

So I was somewhat disappointed in the photos I obtained (I’m not displaying them here) BUT… I was now alerted to the fact that there was at least one bittern that probably frequented this area.

So about a week later I was in the same area and this time I was looking for the bittern.  I didn’t have to look long or hard.  I found the bittern completely out in the open where I had encountered the heron about a week previously.  It immediately went into its ‘beak in the sky’ hiding pose… but it was completely in the open!  Over the next hour or so I managed to photograph the bird at my leisure, and I even alerted other photographers in the area to the bird’s presence after it had moved from it’s open position.  I probably took a hundred photos… some of which I’ll now share with you.

So the first three photos here are of the relatively rare sight of the secretive American bittern in the open…

And finally, a couple of photos of what makes you appreciative of seeing this bird at all!

I spent considerable time birding Fir Island in January, and most of my focus was on trying to photograph Short-eared owls and Northern harriers at the Rawlins Road Fish and Game Preserve.

When I’m in the area I usually stop at the Snow Goose concession to see what can be coaxed from the brush along their parking area.  On this particular day I obtained photos of Song sparrows (which are quite common along the edge of the parking lot)…

Song Sparrow

and a very cooperative Bewick’s wren, which can be challenging to find and even more challenging to photograph.

Bewick’s Wren

Once at the access area I discovered that it was at a period of low tide.  The resident Great Blue heron there was by this time getting quite used to people and I was able to observe and photograph the bird while it was finding food in the drainage ditch.  It seemed to be mainly searching in the tangled grass along the side of the ditch, and I could see it obtaining light-colored objects from the grass from time to time.  I assumed that it was getting small crustaceans, but in magnifying some of my photos in the camera viewer I could see that the heron was actually retrieving very small fish that had apparently been left in tangled vegetation as the tide receded.

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

Despite several forays to the area over a several week period I never did obtain a Short-eared owl photo of the quality I wanted.

Short-Eared Owl