Category Archives: birds

  This is a collection of images none of which has had a posting of its own. The first two are actually neglected pictures left over from October. The final three were taken this November. A robin feeds on elderberries. … Continue reading →

  I saw three shrikes yesterday, but it was shrike #3 that puzzled me. The Northern Shrike is a raptor-like songbird that is around here in the cold season. However, it is not particularly common, so I was unfamiliar with … Continue reading →

  I have occasionally attended a turkey roast, but this was the first time I had seen a turkey roost. Wild turkeys are not native to this region (when I was a child, there were none to be seen). However, … Continue reading →

  The large local flocks of Canada Geese sometimes contain surprises: vagrant species that have joined them after having wandered far from their own migrating flocks. The Canada Geese don’t seem to mind, but it is unclear how each manages … Continue reading →

  The life of a Barrow’s Goldeneye Duck is not exclusively one of enjoying the delights of feasting and mating. What started as a tranquil scene of a dozen Barrow’s feeding in the shallows was interrupted. As if from a … Continue reading →

  The Audubon Society tells us that Barrow’s Goldeneyes are “found mainly in wild country of northwestern North America”. Chuckle, as the Barrow’s is fairly common here, apparently Audubon’s boffins suspect we lack roads. An obviously bonded pair of Barrow’s … Continue reading →

  An accidental bird is one that turns up well outside its normal range. Also known as a wanderer, it just doesn’t fit the local phenology. Today, I twice saw an accidental Anna’s Hummingbird. Each observation was remarkably fleeting, and … Continue reading →

  It was an odd request (but it came from a subscriber to this blog): [T]here are two deadheads by the water’s edge where the American Coots are climbing out and playing a version of Coot of the Castle. The … Continue reading →

  Coots remain territorial year round. So even when they form large gregarious winter flocks, they will aggressively attack one another. It is the off season for coot breeding and there seems to be little to defend, yet they still … Continue reading →