I feel somewhat guilty about not having photographs to post, but my recovery from knee replacement surgery and the winter weather have reduced my opportunities for photography. I hope that situation will change by mid-March.
Yesterday (2/20/2010) my attention was diverted from a conversation with a neighbor by the sounds of crows and an eagle. I focused on the crows and realized that they were providing some passing harassment to a mature Bald eagle that was atop one of the tall fir trees located in our yard! I think this is only the second time that I have seen a Bald eagle in one of our own trees. For whatever reason the crows were content on just flying by and didn't concentrate on full-blown harassment. The eagle remained in the tree for at least twenty minutes.
I took advantage of some of the sunny, warm weather to improve my watercourse/photography environment for the coming spring. A neighbor had unearthed a long, slender rock and had graciously offered it to me. I stood the rock on end and mounted it immediately adjacent to our watercourse, giving the birds another staging point and at the same time creating an ideal point for natural-appearing photographs. This rock supplements a dead branch I use for a staging area on the other side of the water feature.
A neighbor had recently given me a large patch of moss and I split it up to try to get it started on and between some of the rocks that constitute the water course. I haven't had a lot of luck with such projects in the past but hope springs eternal... especially in the spring!
The yard birds lately have been rather boring. On a good day we can field between twenty and thirty Dark-eyed juncos but all will be leaving for higher breeding grounds later this spring. We have a bumper crop of House sparrows from this past year and I'm contemplating how I can move them on. We've had at least one Anna's hummingbird all winter and recently I've observed the bird twice using the watercourse in near-twilight conditions. We're also getting an occasional visit from one or more Downy woodpeckers after an absence of a couple of months. Perhaps our biggest breakthrough is the presence of up to four American Goldfinches which occasionally visit the yard. Although present in the Skagit Valley in the winter this is the first winter in the eight we have lived here that we've had them in the yard. I briefly observed an Orange-crowned warbler in the yard about three weeks ago and saw some unidentified warblers high (80-100') in our fir trees late yesterday afternoon.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Neighborhood Barred Owls
On the evening of January 26 I was sitting in my office at my computer and on several occasions I thought I heard some loud noises coming from outside, but they were intermittent and I didn't pay too much attention. About 9:30pm the noises became more persistent and I opened my window so that I could hear more clearly. I realized almost immediately that I was listening to a Barred owl, and it wasn't too long after that that it became clear that there were actually two of them calling back and forth.
The vocalizations went on for about twenty minutes before tapering off. We've had Barred owls in the neighborhood previously and they are probably here more than we realize, but it's nice to get the occasional affirmation of their presence.
The vocalizations went on for about twenty minutes before tapering off. We've had Barred owls in the neighborhood previously and they are probably here more than we realize, but it's nice to get the occasional affirmation of their presence.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Habitat Improvement & Yard Birds
One of our neighbors, who owns an excavation company, offered the services of a lift he had recently purchased to trim some of the neighbors’ trees. We took advantage of the offer and had him cut a small window through a madrone so that we would be able to see/photograph sunsets in Thatcher Pass. We also had some madrone limbs hanging over the street trimmed and a few fir limbs trimmed.
So what does this have to do with birds? I’m ‘warehousing’ the madrone limbs for use as perches in the yard and I’m using the fir slash to refurbish my brush pile. Over the past couple of years our brush pile has been getting rather thin. The livestock wire that encloses it has been increasingly exposed and the interior of the brush pile has settled, leaving a lot of empty space inside. The fir slash is perfect for both hiding the external wire and refilling the brush pile.
Early Saturday morning I realized that I could move one of our primary bird baths about three feet closer to the chair where I sit for most bird photography, so I undertook that project. Since the bird bath was immediately adjacent to the brush pile I rearranged and added some perches, being careful that they wouldn’t interfere with my photographic view corridor.
Within view of my photographic position I now have the brush pile, two bird baths, a primary feeder to attract birds and the top of the watercourse which is a big attractant in the spring and summer. I also previously conceived of and built two small feeders that blend into the brush pile so that they aren’t obvious if included in photographs. These feeders can easily be relocated around the brush pile.
While in the yard I also observed some of the birds. We’re inundated with House sparrows and I plan to have talks with a couple of the neighbors about letting them nest in the area. We also have a bumper crop of Oregon juncos. The juncos have come to realize that when I enter the yard it’s feeding time and they begin staging while waiting for me to begin broadcasting seed.
A little higher up the desirability scale we have Golden-crowned, Song and Fox sparrows. We had a single Brown creeper working the fir trees yesterday and what was obviously a male American goldfinch. This is the first winter that we have had a few goldfinches overwinter in the yard although they can be found all winter in the ‘flats’ on the mainland.
While several of the neighbors were visiting, and just before dark, a male Anna’s hummingbird approached the watercourse for a drink and/or a bath. Its ruby/purple throat could be seen plainly in the fading light. This is the second winter I’ve maintained a hummingbird feeder for the Anna’s hummingbirds. This year they’ve already weathered a couple of deep freezes and last year they survived the two weeks we had snow on the ground.
Earlier this week with what was warmer weather I had the opportunity to sit in the yard for about an hour and was amazed by the number of chickadees (both Chestnut-backed and Black-capped) that were actively visiting the feeders.
So what does this have to do with birds? I’m ‘warehousing’ the madrone limbs for use as perches in the yard and I’m using the fir slash to refurbish my brush pile. Over the past couple of years our brush pile has been getting rather thin. The livestock wire that encloses it has been increasingly exposed and the interior of the brush pile has settled, leaving a lot of empty space inside. The fir slash is perfect for both hiding the external wire and refilling the brush pile.
Early Saturday morning I realized that I could move one of our primary bird baths about three feet closer to the chair where I sit for most bird photography, so I undertook that project. Since the bird bath was immediately adjacent to the brush pile I rearranged and added some perches, being careful that they wouldn’t interfere with my photographic view corridor.
Within view of my photographic position I now have the brush pile, two bird baths, a primary feeder to attract birds and the top of the watercourse which is a big attractant in the spring and summer. I also previously conceived of and built two small feeders that blend into the brush pile so that they aren’t obvious if included in photographs. These feeders can easily be relocated around the brush pile.
While in the yard I also observed some of the birds. We’re inundated with House sparrows and I plan to have talks with a couple of the neighbors about letting them nest in the area. We also have a bumper crop of Oregon juncos. The juncos have come to realize that when I enter the yard it’s feeding time and they begin staging while waiting for me to begin broadcasting seed.
A little higher up the desirability scale we have Golden-crowned, Song and Fox sparrows. We had a single Brown creeper working the fir trees yesterday and what was obviously a male American goldfinch. This is the first winter that we have had a few goldfinches overwinter in the yard although they can be found all winter in the ‘flats’ on the mainland.
While several of the neighbors were visiting, and just before dark, a male Anna’s hummingbird approached the watercourse for a drink and/or a bath. Its ruby/purple throat could be seen plainly in the fading light. This is the second winter I’ve maintained a hummingbird feeder for the Anna’s hummingbirds. This year they’ve already weathered a couple of deep freezes and last year they survived the two weeks we had snow on the ground.
Earlier this week with what was warmer weather I had the opportunity to sit in the yard for about an hour and was amazed by the number of chickadees (both Chestnut-backed and Black-capped) that were actively visiting the feeders.
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