Saturday, August 29, 2015

A busy Bird Morning

      This morning was an extremely busy morning in my backyard as far as birds go. I saw 12 species from 7:30 AM to 9:30 AM.

       I live in a very regular urban subdivision. We have many trees in our yards. We have open spaces for parks that have lots of trees. As nice as this environment is , it's not great bird habitat. All these plants and trees are not natural and the birds know that. Once in a while you get lucky and see many birds in a short time. Usually we see a few chickadees, nuthatches, house sparrows and the odd other bird most days. It's not an active bird habitat. I see from 30 to 35 species per year in my yard.

      Now the fall migration of songbirds is at it peak. So this morning many of these birds found my backyard, and vegetable garden in particular, a good place to have breakfast.

     From 7:30 to 9:30 I saw: White throated sparrows, white breasted nuthatch, red breasted nuthatch, house wren, yellow warbler, black capped chickadee, blue jay, house finch, house sparrow, hummingbird, robin and white crowned sparrow. There were a couple of LBJ's that I couldn't identify and also a couple of warblers.

     The white throated sparrows put on a great show. They run at a tremendous speed and scoot around under the heavy garden vegetation. They chase each other.

     The humming bird spent a whole two minutes with me today.

      Various flocks of robins will pass through for the next 6 weeks. Some will stay all year. Robins from further north keep coming south. Robins have been found nesting on Banks Island in the Arctic. It will take them a long time to get this far south.

     And yes , you're going to have to trust me on this one. I did not get one photo. I was looking through my window into the light and into a dark garden. That's not the best light for photos. There also was a nasty reflection in my window glass. If I went outside , that would have ended the bird visit immediately. 

    There will be more song birds coming through for the next month. I'll be watching. I'm expecting three species of black birds and lots of yellow rumped warblers. The yellow rumps seem to stick around for most of September. 

28 comments:

  1. glad you got to enjoy a nice variety and hopefully more to come before winter comes to you!

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    1. We always have birds but not so many and in such variety.

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  2. Sounds wonderful! Sometimes we just have to enjoy our surroundings and leave the camera behind. I also wouldn't risk scaring off the birds just to snap an image!

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  3. Wow! That is impressive. We don't get a lot of fall migration for some unknown reason....

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    1. When the grackles, Brewers blackbirds and other black species visit it's nuts as there are so many.

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  4. I am so impressed with the variety! Did you know that a group of hummingbirds is called a charm of hummingbirds? Isn't that perfect? :-)

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    1. Now that's something I've never heard before.. a charm. Quite suitable for hummers.

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  5. I would say that is a great day for someone who enjoys birds! It's extra special to see them right in your own backyard. You should be seeing warblers soon, I would think.

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    1. There were warblers with this group. I'm not great at identifying warblers.

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  6. That sounds like a good day for someone who enjoys birds. Even more special to see that many without even leaving your own backyard.

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  7. It was best to enjoy the moment of them being there. Sometimes we get too focused on how our shot should look that we miss the chance to enjoy watching our subject.

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    1. I would have missed everything if I'd gone outside.

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  8. I too don't get much variety at my urban patio. I think I get maybe 4-5 varieties throughout the year and that is it. It was wonderful you got to see so many varieties of birds yesterday. That must have been a thrill.

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    1. It's fall migration so you never know what will visit.

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  9. No pictures? Those birds were putting on a show just for you.

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    1. I'm so special so a show just for me. Sure!

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  10. Hi Red, All the commenters seem to agree ... this was a good thing to watch and no worries about no photos. Just glad you enjoyed it. It is kind of an "end of summer" thing. Are you ready for fall?

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  11. It is lovely hearing about the birds visiting your garden. A nice variety. I have been watching the birds in my father-in-law's garden but not one photo either. Sometimes it is just nice to sit and visit and use the brain as a camera lens :)

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  12. That is nice the birds come to visit your garden and treat you with a concert every morning.

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  13. nice to be on the route for migration. I have seen a few flocks and see some regulars forming flocks.

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  14. We get some that stay through the winter, but the Canada geese and most of the ducks scatter south.

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  15. Wow- I've had a couple of mornings like that..where I just knew if I moved an inch, I would miss the visitors.
    Have a great week!

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  16. I'm not sure how many species I get in my garden/yard but I'm pretty sure it's nowhere near 35.

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  17. I am waiting for some friends to go through on their way south...they visited last spring! I find watching birds so relaxing:)

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  18. Wow, what an amazing site to see all of those birds in such a short period of time. Birds are absolutely beautiful to watch and some things just aren't intended to be captured even with a camera. Glad to hear you enjoyed your morning spent with the birds!

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