The House Finch is a common backyard bird on the West Coast of the United States. If a seed feeder is filled for at least part of the day in the backyard House Finches will find it. They are noisy as the interact with each other on and around the feeder. In the spring the males can be heard singing from nearby trees.
White-bellied Hummingbird
In late 2018 we encountered this Hummingbird at the Willson Botanical Garden in Costa Rica near the Panama border. This species has a limited range and is found in Costa Rica and Panama.
Osprey
Walking back from one of the local brackish ponds, we saw an Osprey soaring about our heads. The presence of this fish-eating raptor and the moon made for a shot I could not refuse.
White-headed Woodpecker
This Woodpecker is found only the the higher elevations of the Far West United States. In California, it occurs mostly in the Sierra and Cascade Mountain Ranges.
One year we had one drilling a hole in the side of cabin we were staying in and it sounded a lot like someone knocking on a door. The bird made it past the exterior wall and started pulling insulation out from between the inner and out walls.
Bullock's Oriole
Today we decided to brave the crowds and drove to Joseph D. Grant County Park, aka “Grant Ranch”. This has always been a special place for us because of the birds and the beauty of the area, at least in the spring and fall when it is not too hot. While walking on one of the dirt roads in the park we came across a group of oak trees that were alive with Bullock’s Orioles. This species has a distinct chatter-like call so it’s easy to find them when the are vocalizing. The contrast between the oak leaves and the yellows and oranges of the bird is striking.
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
One of my favorite local flycatchers. They spend their winters on the West Coast of Mexico and migrate into California and north into British Columbia in the spring. Their "chew-wee" call is often heard in local forests. This one was catching bugs at the same place where we saw a Northern Parula which is rare for California. This flycatcher was transporting the bugs to its nest that was nearby and in plain view. I saw it on a fence or low tree branches with bug in mouth for several seconds at a time. I am sure it was wary about entering its nest with so many people around who were looking for the Northern Parula.
The Pacific-slope Flycatcher.
Wrentit
This species is only found on western coastal areas of the contiguous United States. It has no relatives in North America. They are normally difficult to photograph because they like to stay hidden in brushy areas. Today we say and heard several of them. This one posed for us, bug and all.
Yellow-headed Blackbird
This blackbird is common in the western half of the United States and occurs from Mexico into Southern Canada. Its song starts with a flute-like whistle and becomes a metallic buzz like metal scrapping on metal. They inhabit marsh areas and sometimes occur in very large flocks. When in flight, large flocks show flashes of yellow as the heads of the male reflect sunlight.
Wilson's Warbler
On the Central California Coast birders know that spring has arrived when we hear Wilson’s Warbler singing in the damp brush of forested areas. This perky warbler is often seen flying around in brush capturing insects and stopping a few seconds for a photo op.
Sharp-shinned Hawk
The Sharp-shinned Hawk or “sharpie” as it is affectionately called is a high-speed stealth predator whose prey is song birds. This one was seen in our backyard. I took this picture through a glass door.
Black Pheobe
A very common phoebe on the West Coast of California. It is here all year long unlike it’s close relative Say’s Phoebe which is uncommon in the same area during the summer. The Black Pheobe finds a perch which it uses to watch for insects. When an insect is spotted it does a short flight from the perch, snatches the bug and often returns to the same perch. They often make an incessant series of shrill chipping sounds.
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
A subtle beauty that inhabits brush lands and forests of the southern half of the United States. When members of this species are vocal their distinctive sounds give them away. Otherwise they are stealth birds that are hard to spot under the best of conditions and when in thick brush, impossible to find. When they are nest building they can sometimes be seen collecting spider webs which they use to bind lichens together to form a small cup for a nest.
They whip their tails back and forth and splay them wide to scare bugs which are then eaten.
The Blue-gray Gnatcatcher photographed at Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve, Santa Clara County, California. The dark "V" on the forehead indicates this is a male.
California Scrub-Jay
Sometimes I forget that some of our local birds are pretty interesting especially if you have not seen them before. Once we were hiking and ran into a fellow who was excited seeing a wonderful blue-colored bird. In his case it was Steller’s Jay which is a very common species in the higher wooded areas of my county. It’s tempting to say so what, but I didn’t because I too go to places and see common local birds for the first time and am both awed and excited.
The California Scrub-Jay is a noisy and curious jay that frequents open scrub lands, back yards, parks and wherever else there is a chance of finding food. It is fairly common and seeing four or five on a short hike is not uncommon.
Groove-billed Ani
My nemesis bird. It is so common in parts of the world, but I spent 2 years looking for it in the U.S. where it is fairly common in the Southern States.
Photo taken at the Vallarta Gardens near Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico
Tufted Flycatcher
This small flycatcher was commonly seen during our eleven day visit in San Sebastián del Oeste and in the El Tuito area. This one was fairly cooperative and did not seem to mind me getting close for photos.
Squirrel Cuckoo
Of the larger birds we encountered on our trip to Jalisco, Mexico, the Squirrel Cuckoo had to be on of the hardest to photograph and I never did get a good ventral photo of this species. They don’t like sitting in one place especially when someone is starring at them and pointing a camera lens their way. This individual was unusual because it stayed still for more than a couple of seconds.
Streak-backed Oriole
Another view of this species showing some detail of back feather detail.
Streak-backed Oriole
Floy and I have recently returned from an eleven day trip to Western Mexico. We started in the quaint old mining down of San Sebastián del Oeste which is about an hour and a half drive from Puerto Vallara. The town was founded in 1605 and it has the appearance of a Spanish colonial village. The second half of our trip was in the El Tuito area which is about an hour and a half south of Puerto Vallarta. We stayed at a nature preserve called Rancho Primavera, a beautiful semi-isolated place about a ten minute drive west of El Tuito.
The next several blog entries will be from both of us more or less documenting this trip. We will take care to add the category “Mexico 2020” so that you can search for them and view them as a group.
I thought I would start the series by posting a photo of the Streak-backed Oriole, a beautiful bird that was very common around the El Tuito area.
Enjoy!
Long-eared Owl
Long-eared Owls are widespread over the North American continent. They eat small mammals and roost in dense trees. This one was seen in a vast open area in the Panoche Valley of California in a rare stand of trees in an oasis area.
Black Skimmer
While birding in Florida early in 2016 we came across a boat harbor. On one of the floats there were several Black Skimmers. They let me get surprisingly close. I put my camera down on the float and took this photo.
This bird has a shorter upper beak and uses its longer lower beak to skim the water for fish as it flies in long straight lines.