Spotted Towhee

Spotted Towhee

When I first spotted them with their red breasts, I thought they were Robins!

Here's a Real Robin

Robin

Birds in Alaska

We went on a wonderful cruise in Alaska a few years ago.   These were some of the birds we saw on our excursions.

Bald Eagle

We Saw a Lot of Them!

Many Sea Birds Taking Off. 

One of the More Stationary Birds We Saw

Eagle Totem

Clan House

Yet Another Totem Pole

Another Mystery Bird

Little Brown Bird of Some Sort

If you know what this is, please leave a comment.

Another View

Same Species?  Or Another One?

S

Another View of Same Little Brown Bird - Examining a Cable.





What Bird is This?

Possible Red-winged Blackbird?

Could this be a Red-winged Blackbird?  I shot it from below and it may be that the distinctive red patch is just barely visible.  Click on the image to enlarge it.

A Flock of the Same Birds

Old Photos - Hawk and Quail

I was going through some old photos and found some bird shots.

Red-shouldered Hawk

Here's a hawk that landed on my garage deck.  I had to shoot this from the other side of the house and into the light.  Not a great way to take a photo, but I edited it enough to try to ID it.  I think it's a Red-shouldered Hawk.

California Quail Parent

Keeping an eye on the line of youngsters

We have a lot of California Quail around here.  It's fun to watch them crossing the road.  These old photos were taken when I saw a lot of them in a line on the roof across the street.  By the time I grabbed my camera, a lot of them had dispersed.  There were at least 50 or 60 of them - more than I normally see in a covy.

Western Scrub Jay

These jays are supposed to be pretty intelligent, as far as birds go.  Actually, it's as far as animals go, as their brain/body ratio is about the same as chimps.  Who knew? 

These birds aren't as pushy as the Steller's Jays and don't run the other birds off as much.  But, the Steller's Jays seem to respect them and will vacate the feeders, when the Scrub Jays appear.

There are a few varieties of these jays that vary in color in different western regions.

I like their fancy eyebrows!  Click on the image (like any images on the blog)  to see the details.

Steller's Jay

Scolding

 

These are perhaps the noisiest birds around here.  The photo accurately depicts their normal mode - scolding.  They are bullies and run the smaller birds off, when they can.  But their iridescent blue feathers are amazing.

Years ago I had a Malamute, who could catch these birds.  Unfortunately I didn't react with the expected thanks when she presented me with her first jay.  Eeeek!  After that  I would occasionally find piles of feathers and feet.  The jays seemed to spread the word and  abandoned my yard for years, but they're back now.

I guess they realize my cocker is no threat.

Dove Club

Mourning Dove

Mourning Doves are common around here, just like they are in most places.   But I still like them.  They apparently took a vote and decided to designate my yard as their new club house.  They're here from dawn to dusk. 

Bird on Bird

When they're not scounging for seed spilled from the feeders on the ground, they're lying under my lemon tree - just hanging out.   There can be anywhere from around 10 birds to 50 or 60 basking in the sun.  

They have a designated watch dove.  Or two.  These guys are looking around, while the others eat or sleep.  When I open the slider to my back deck, they alert the other ones.  Unlike the other species, they don't automaticly fly off.  Sometimes they just ignore me.  Sometimes they move a bit further away in the yard.  But they usually stick around. 

On the Balcony Railing

I think there are some season ticket holders, as some of the doves hang around even when I let my dog out.  I'm totally guessing on this, but I think the same birds are coming back again and again.  They seem to have becme accustomed to us and don't panic when they see us. 

On the Roof

My Favorite Birds - Band-Tailed Pigeons

This is not your usual pigeon-in-the-park pigeon.  Look at that bright yellow beak!  They also sport yellow legs and feet.  These guys are the snappy dressers of the pigeon and dove world.   

They prefer forests.  I qualify here, as there's a redwood forest all around here.  Cool fact: They can drink without tipping their heads back, like most birds do.  Cool fact #2: They can empty a bird bath pretty quickly, as they are the largest pigeons. These are North American natives, not imported like some other varieties.

I have no idea why they are named band tailed.  They do have a band on their tail, but the white band on the back of the head seems more prominent.  But, if it were up to me, I'd called them Yellow Footed Pigeons!  Love those yellow shoes they wear.

I don't see these guys all the time,  but I sure enjoy them when they visit.  It's well worth the extra bird seed.

Onto the Birds! Black Headed Grosbeak

These were some  of my first visitors.  It took me quite a while to ID them.  If you find I ever misidentify something, please let me know.  I think this one is a female.

They were interesting.  They belong to the Order PASSERIFORMES and Family Cardinals and Grosbeaks (Cardinalidae).  They can eat the normally poisonous Monarch Butterfly.

So, the birds are arriving.  Yay!

Black Squirrel

I found out I don't know a lot about squirrels, either.  I knew we had gray squirrels, as I'd see the occasional one.  But I didn't know about black squirrels.  Nor did I realize that squirrels love lemons!  They'd never touched my lemon tree before I lured them in with bird seed.  They began eating exactly half of the lemon rind and then would drop the rest on the ground to rot.  Darn squirrels! 

What to Do?

I researched online to find the best squirrel solutions.  They ranged from the sublime to the rediculous.  Cheap to terribly expensive.  I found two that seemed reasonable. 
    
Cayenne Pepper Powder.  Suppposedly this stuff doesn't bother the birds.  (It hasn't affected my birds.)  And squirrels supposedly hate it.  Most of mine left.  However, one or two seem to like it. 

Squirrel Baffle.  I got one of these to put on my pole. It fits over the pole and keeps the squirrels from climbing the pole. 

 However, it wouldn't fit on the shepherd's pole I had.  I needed to get a new pole.  Found one that would hold up to 4 feeders.  In order to balance things I needed another feeder.  Does this progression of adding things never end?

I purchased a "squirrel proof" feeder next.  It has a metal cage around the feeder holes.  Anything heavier than a bird will pull the cage down and cover the feeding holes.  Below is the setup I have now.  Click on the image to enlarge it.

The  baffle is half way up the pole.  The squirrel proof feeder is the one on the right hand side.  Behind them is a flat feeder in the shape of a crane.  I no longer put food into it, as the squirrels hopped on and kept knocking the wings off.  Behind the crane is the bird bath.

And So Did the Villans

I've always thought squirrels were kind of cute.  No more!  They are evil, calculating creatures.  Here's one testing out the yard.

Plotting.

They got bolder and bolder. Eventually I had a a whole bunch of them chasing each other around the yard, knocking over my path lights.

Checking things out.  That's my new bird bath.

 Success!  No wonder the bath emptied out within hours after I filled it. 

Climbing the shepherd's pole.

Now he's just laughing at me!

New measures need to be taken!