Leaving the Yard Again

We're starting to get a few spring migrants show up in the yard but it will probably still be a couple of weeks before I get any new, interesting photos.  We have had occasional visits to the suet feeder by a Bewick's wren, however. 

So to fill in I've got a few non-yard photos to post.  Get used to them while the migrants make their way up to our neck of the woods! 

First up, a female Black-chinned hummingbird... 

A female Downy woodpecker... the same species that we have in the PacNW but this is one in a far different location.  

I have to say that this is a classic pose of the White-breasted nuthatch.  We have the Red-breasted nuthatch west of the mountains but I believe that the White-breasted nuthatch can be found east of the Cascades.  

Do you ever get that uncomfortable feeling that someone is staring at you??? 

Spring Yard Birds

It seems like spring might have at last arrived... the sunny weather is a welcome break and I've spent at least a couple of hours a day for the past several days observing and photographing birds in the yard. 

Both species of hummingbirds, Anna's and Rufous, are now in the yard and we have at least one male and one female of each.  I hadn't seen a female Anna's in some time but we now have at least one to go with the male that overwintered.  The female Rufous beat the male here by at least a week. 

Male Anna's hummingbird...

 

Female Anna's hummingbird...

 

Female Rufous hummingbird... 

 

We're now welcoming back our California quail to the yard.  I've never known where they go in the winter but we almost never see them during the winter months.  When the family disappeared last fall we had a male but the female was apparently lost towards the end of raising the young.  When they finally disappeared last fall, we had four young males and a single female, making a total of five males and the single female.  After almost a year I can't tell which of the quail might be the father of last year's brood, but this spring we have three males and only one female.  It doesn't look good for a breeding season this year because of only the single female and the fact that the quail disappear at such an steady rate once they have fledged.  There have been other coveys in the neighborhood so maybe this group will disperse and more of them pair up for the breeding season. 

 

We still have our Fox sparrows and Golden-crowned sparrows but they typically don't remain with us for the spring and summer months.  Our population of Dark-eyed juncos (Oregon race) is drastically reduced and I haven't seen the Slate-colored junco for a couple of weeks. 


This (Sunday) afternoon a visiting friend called my attention to SIX Turkey vultures that were flying overhead.  They weren't circling but making a straight line north towards Guemes Island.  My guess is that this bunch was probably migrating to this area from much further south and they didn't appear interested in circling to find food. 

A Mixed Bag...

Several days ago I was able to spend some time in the yard and observe/photograph some of the birds. 

First up, a male House finch.  The males are transitioning into their breeding plumage leading many people to think they are seeing a Purple finch, but it's a mistake to try to identify the birds by color alone.  The male  House finches vary from a wine color (even deeper than this one pictured) to a light orange.  

This is a Fox sparrow which, if history repeats itself, will soon disappear from our yard for the summer and won't return until late in the fall.  

Finally, for the yard birds, this male American goldfinch is transitioning to its breeding plumage. This is the first winter that the goldfinches have over-wintered in our yard, but some can be found in the county during winter months.  Compare this goldfinch to the males in one of your field guides to note the changes it is undergoing.  (I think you can click on this photo to enlarge it.)

On Friday (today) I drove to Whidbey and Fir Islands.  On the way I encountered this hawk on Fidalgo Island.  When I photographed the hawk I thought it was a Rough-legged hawk due to its light color, especially on the head.  My assessment was strengthened when the bird didn't fly when I stopped to photograph it as I've generally found the Rough-legged hawks to be more tolerant of vehicles.  But the Rough-legged hawks have probably already left until next winter.  After processing the photographs I'm fairly certain that this was a light-morphed Red-tailed hawk.  It was a bonus to be able to photograph it in a natural setting instead of the usual power line or power pole! 
 

Finally, here is a Northern shrike that was out on Fir Island.  It's a fairly rare bird in the county... I only see two or three each season.  The shrike is generally found in open areas and can be a fairly vicious bird for its size, even preying on small birds on occasion.  Note the hook at the end of the upper mandible.