#along with the house finches and hummingbirds and california towhees

[cathartes-aurae]

finally got a good audio recording of the mystery bird that hangs out by our apartment but i can't upload it anywhere to ask if anyone knows what it is :(

[sigmastolen]

friends!!! today was a great bird day, capping a pretty good bird week-or-so

ok so first, one of the recent rainy mornings (last friday maybe) when i was driving through the park on my way to work, i looked at this one tall, barren tree and i saw what i'm pretty sure was a great horned owl huddled in its branches -- it was a big raptor silhouette with what looked like the horns on its head, and we've heard great horned owls calling at night before, but i never imagined i'd see one!

i did a birdfeeder craft some weeks ago and brought home the extra birdseed bc it was a 10 lb bag and i wasn't about to leave it at work for the resident rodents to get at, and i've started putting a couple handfuls out on the backyard fence (cinderblock, so there's a nice wide top), and most days i see sparrows (house, white-crowned, song, chipping) and/or mourning doves come and eat it and they're so cute and it makes me so happy

i've mentioned the red-tailed hawk that lives by the freeway eddies on my way to work before, but friday and saturday i saw two red-tails hanging around that area, which was pretty exciting (red-tails tend to be solitary so mum and i speculate that they're hooking up)

which i guess brings us to today's walk in the park! at first it was raining lightly so no camera today, but i did bring binoculars. on the way there, going up the hill, an entire flock of waterlogged cedar waxwings flew from a barren tree across the street to a leafy tree right above my head, which was the closest i've ever seen them. and then after we crested the hill i checked out the barren tree that i saw the owl in (lots of birds like to sit there so i am in the habit of looking whenever i pass) and not only was there a male american kestrel in that tree, but a red-tailed hawk was sitting in a tree nearby (probably the one i've seen by the fire station and the elementary school -- it seems to hold the east end of the park). and then there were the usual assortment of crows, yellow-rumped warblers in fine breeding colors, western bluebirds, black phoebes, dark-eyed juncos, various sparrows, various hummingbirds (we mainly have anna's and allen's but i'm not discounting rarer ones), geese (canada, egyptian, feral domestic), and mallards... until i crossed under the road to the other part of the park and saw a red-shouldered hawk (it seems to hold the southeast area but i've seen it perched in the adjacent neighborhood as well). i started following it from tree to tree bc i'm obnoxious, and while i was watching i heard another hawk start to yell. the first hawk flew towards it and i saw it land on the same branch as another red-shouldered hawk, and then it mounted the second hawk and they copulated! then one hawks flew away (i think the first one, the male) and i lost it, but i started following the second hawk instead as she went from tree to tree, calling periodically. eventually she went to the high-up crook of a pine tree, holding a pine stick (w/ needles) in her mouth, which she put into the nest she's apparently making there, and she spent some time up there, tamping down the sticks and making adjustments. after a few minutes she started going from tree to tree again, and shortly after i had to go, but it was so cool a;skdjf;

and then there were more of the usual little birds on the way home that i hadn't seen on the way there in the rain, including house finches, lesser goldfinches, more sparrows and bluebirds, and probable bushtits, california towhees, and hutton's vireos.

oh and also while it was still raining there were also thousands, nay, millions of ants on the sidewalk! probably their nests were flooding and they were trying to get out, maybe with their eggs? pictures to follow. it was pretty crazy! and while i was watching the red-shoulder at the nest site there were also two squirrels having a noisy confrontation and jousting at each other along a tree trunk. none of the usual lizards today, though - too cold and wet.

[anonsally]

Another epic bird walk!

I was only out for just over an hour, but there was a lot of avian activity. I saw more different species than I have ever seen on a single outing since I started using eBird!

Birds spotted: 

at least 3 yellow-rumped warblers

a lesser goldfinch

at least 5 house finches

about 25 cedar waxwings

at least 3 white-crowned sparrows

a California towhee

at least 3 American robins

2 Western bluebirds

a brown creeper

a red-breasted nuthatch

3 bushtits

a chestnut-backed chickadee

at least 3 crows

an Anna’s hummingbird

a northern flicker

a Nuttall’s woodpecker

a downy woodpecker (I’m pretty sure. While it’s hard to distinguish them from hairy woodpeckers, this one was near the Nuttall’s woodpecker and comparable in size, so probably too small to be a hairy woodpecker.)

a red-breasted sapsucker (again, I’m pretty sure. It was behaving like a woodpecker and had a completely red head, and a white stripe along the shoulder.)

The sapsucker was considered, by Merlin, to be possibly uncommon at this time of year in this location. However, there didn’t seem to be any other candidates. 

[birdfeederspros-blog]

The Importance of Feeding Wild Birds to Help Our Environment

Birds are essential to our environment. Throughout the world, birds are essential in dispersing seeds for plants which provide food, not only for other animals but for humans as well. These plants also provide medicine, timber and recreation. Birds travel long distances and assist in germination. Birds play a vital role in keeping the balance of nature in the world. Birds play other roles within ecosystems as well. They are a natural way to control pests in gardens, on farms, and other places.

Loss of habitat for wild birds continues unabated and natural nesting sites and food resources continue to dwindle. To assist in stopping the decline, the most significant way we can contribute as a people is to restore natural habitat in our own backyard. We need to take an active and responsible role in managing our bird habitat. If you manage any kind of property, you are managing habitat for wildlife.

Some Reasons for this decline are loss of habitat, environmental degradation, seasonal changes, change in weather, global climate change, inadequate forage, and so on. Wild birds have a comparatively high metabolism rate that needs food on an everyday and consistent basis. Several birds die throughout the winter, throughout droughts, cold spells, prolonged rains, and other conditions that cut back the provision of forage resulting in stress, weakness, reduced resistance to illness and parasites, and starvation. Feeding wild birds promotes population sustainment when natural food is difficult to find.

There are many reasons why people feed wild birds. Some of these reasons include observing or studying nature around them, entertainment, relaxation, or just trying to provide support to bird populations in your area. The list can go on. As mentioned above, many of our wild bird populations are declining.

Although bird communities in urban environments are regularly dominated by some exotic and common species like Rock Pigeons and House Sparrows, a shocking range of native birds have adjusted to life around humans. The American Robin can thrive in many habitats which include grass lawns with an abundance of earthworms. The California Quail and Abert’s Towhees find suburban plantings an acceptable substitute for native arid land habitats. Gulls, vultures, and crows get plenty of food at garbage dumps and along roadsides. Hummingbirds, chickadees, sparrows, finches, woodpeckers, and other birds take advantage of wild bird feeders. Even wild birds such as hawks and owls find increasingly safe nesting sites and sufficient prey in our towns and cities.

The growing awareness that several wild bird populations are declining has generated a necessity for a brand new form of wild bird feeding. One that goes further than human-focused motivations in taking responsibility for the health and welfare of their local wild bird populations. The most significant thing we are able to do as a people is to restore the natural environment on our own property. We can do this by adding natural landscaping with native plants that offer shelter and foods, take away all alien, invasive plants, increasing natural and artificial nesting sites and offer a supply of fresh water. We can take an effective role in managing your environment and all of the wildlife that lives in it. Feeding wild birds responsibly will generate a greater holistic view of their local wild bird populations in addition to other local wildlife. If you own or manage a property, you are responsible for all the living organisms that occupy it either as transients or permanent residents. You are by definition a habitat and/or wildlife manager.

Sarah Ortiz is a new backyard birder recently finding an interest in wild birds and bird feeding due to moving to a more nature-filled environment.  She currently assists with running a website where they sell bird feeders.  Shop their selection by visiting their website at https://www.BirdFeedersPros.com.

[maritimeorca]

eBird Report - Chambers Creek - Grandview/Soundview Loop, Jul 23, 2017

Chambers Creek - Grandview/Soundview Loop, Pierce, Washington, US Jul 23, 2017 6:09 AM - 9:50 AM

Protocol: Traveling

7.52 mile(s)

Comments:     It was a late start, and it's still supposed to be warm. Not surprisingly, I cut a few corners. Fortunately, cloud cover persisted throughout the walk. I hit all major segments of the park

Segments: Central Meadow, Accessible portions of the beach (the tide was in), Soundview Trail, Grandview Trial, East Slope Trail, Canyon, Chambers Creek (downstream of the dam)

Equipment: Camera with telephoto lens

Additional sightings: Rabbits, Gray Squirrel

36 species (+4 other taxa)

 Canada Goose  149

Mallard  25

Mallard (Domestic type) 1

Common Merganser  4

Great Blue Heron  6

Osprey  4

Cooper's Hawk 5     Four young were seen together on the North side of the park by the overlook at the top of the hill. There might have been a fifth. An adult was seen about a mile later in the walk, so I can add that one to my totals.

Bald Eagle  3     Two adults and one young were on the storage building downstream along Chambers Creek. I suspect these were from the nest that I had been watching.

Red-tailed Hawk  1

American Coot  1

Killdeer  4

peep sp.  1

Greater Yellowlegs 1

Common Murre  21

Pigeon Guillemot  3

California Gull 100

Western/Glaucous-winged Gull  2

Caspian Tern  4

Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  5

Band-tailed Pigeon 2

Anna's Hummingbird 1

Belted Kingfisher 2

Northern Flicker  1

Western Wood-Pewee 1     Heard

Pacific-slope Flycatcher 1

American/Northwestern Crow  19

Purple Martin  1

Cliff Swallow  30

Black-capped Chickadee 1

Bewick's Wren  1

American Robin  1

European Starling 11

Cedar Waxwing  1

White-crowned Sparrow 5

Savannah Sparrow  4

Song Sparrow  1

Spotted Towhee  1

Brown-headed Cowbird 6

House Finch  11

American Goldfinch 1

 View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S38284638

 This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (/content/nw)

[anonsally]

Days 94-96 of COVID-19 shelter-in-place

Various shelter-in-place restrictions are being relaxed, and, unrelatedly, I have had some pretty good birdwatching lately.

Day 94 was Thursday. We had failed to buy milk the previous day (and I feel this was not my job after my medical procedure Wednesday morning), so I ended up having a smaller bowl of cereal than usual (followed by some of Wife’s millet porridge made with almond milk) and then going to buy some. There was no line to get in! That was very lucky! The store will be resuming its normal hours this week and staying open later than it has been lately, which is a relief--we won’t have as many incidents of realising too late that we don’t have what we need for breakfast the next day.

Then I “went” to work: we had a long meeting during which we did not come to an agreement about various strategies for analysis. The biostatistics grad student is convinced that the method two of us are advocating is based on an incorrect assumption, whereas I don’t see where we are making that assumption. I worked out some probability calculations with pencil and paper and wrote to the group about what I thought we were trying to do and why I didn’t think it made the erroneous assumption. I don’t know if that’s where she thought the assumption was coming in, though.

After work, I took a neighborhood walk with my binoculars and ended up getting some good birdwatching in. About halfway into the walk, I heard some rustling in the dry leaves on the ground. “Towhee?” I thought, and looked around for the source, expecting to see a brown California towhee. But it turned out to be a spotted towhee! Such a pretty bird, and I got a really good view of it in the binoculars. Since it’s a comparatively recent addition to my repertoire, I was excited about it. 

After that, I saw some house finches at the tippy top of a thin cypress (?) tree, and also saw a bird through the binoculars that... well, I couldn’t identify it, and I suspect this description is wrong because I couldn’t find anything in my book that matched it, but @lies​, if you have any ideas please let me know! It seemed to be a smallish bird with a solid (possibly orangey-) yellow front and a long, thin beak. It was perched near the top of a tree, and something I assume was a hummingbird seemed to be divebombing it? 

I walked back toward home but stopped at the house with the bird-feeders out front. There was a Nuttall’s woodpecker at the suet feeder! That was exciting (it’s another one I learned recently, and I’ve never seen one at a feeder). It got chased away by a scrub jay but hung out in the tree for a while and I got to watch it some more. There were also more chestnut-backed chickadees, goldfinches, and house finches, as usual, as well as a Steller’s jay. So I felt like I’d seen all the high-quality birds! 

In the evening I solved word puzzles with my dad on a video call. 

Yesterday was Day 95. I got up at 8am, and was really tired, but I had arranged to take a walk with my high school friend who’s visiting (and came over on Wednesday). We had planned to meet at 10am, but in a series of texts we postponed it to 10:15 and then 10:30, and then I didn’t manage to arrive at the meeting place until 10:40, and when I checked my phone on arrival, I saw that she was at least 10 minutes behind me! But eventually she turned up and we had a lovely walk in a park Wife and I have not been hiking in (it is a bit more crowded and less sunny than most of the ones we have gone to), but it’s the one this friend and I had both visited with our families as kids. This was just a very short, easy walk, but we saw ducks, turtles, chestnut-backed chickadees, a cute little periwinkle blue butterfly, and an amazingly well-camouflaged moth. It looked just like a leaf, but I happened to see it flap into position. I think it was an omnivorous looper? but the stripe along the back is blueish, which I haven’t seen in the photos online. Anyway, I was pleased with myself for not being scared of it. We also heard a woodpecker, but I couldn’t locate it. After our walk, we sat and chatted for a long time, and saw a couple of enormous ravens, a wild turkey, a bird of prey with a longish tail, and a couple of Steller’s jays. It was great to spend so much time with my friend. We did not stay 6ft apart the whole time, but when we were closer, we had our masks on, and when we were seated and talking, we were further apart; plus, we were outside the whole time. So I think it is fairly low-risk.

Afterwards, I drove down to my office. I had an appointment at 1:30, but I arrived a few minutes early, so first I ordered tacos to pick up at 1:45, and then I folded down the back seat of the car. I went to the door and waited for the building manager to let me in. I was there to collect my desk chair, in hopes that it will make working at home less of an ergonomic disaster. I also found Girl Scout cookies and some chocolate in my desk, so I brought them home too! The chair did fit in the back of the car (phew), and I picked up my tacos and came home. 

I worked all afternoon, though I took some breaks to read about Juneteenth, too. I had heard of it before as a Black American holiday, but I don’t think I had realised what it was specifically celebrating. And frankly, it’s outrageous that it isn’t a national holiday. The abolishment of slavery is something we should all be celebrating (as a first step toward liberty and justice for all, which we obviously have not yet achieved).

After work, I went to buy some ice cream and noticed that restaurants with space for outdoor dining have resumed seating people outside, with decent spacing between tables. 

I watered the plants that had to be put into pots, several of which are looking pretty shocked from the transplanting. And Wife and I did some heroic Adulting in the kitchen. I stayed up late.

Today was the Summer Solstice and also Day 96! Widget lost his lunch, or rather barfed his breakfast. I’m hoping an opossum will eat the vomit tonight, because I don’t want to have to clean it up.

I wrote to my city councilmember again, this time to ask about the fireworks we have been hearing every night for a few weeks. Last night’s fireworks may have been for Juneteenth, though. Anyway, I ended up going to the farmers’ market by myself rather late (Wife had a headache), but I ran into @llamapunk there and got to spend some time chatting and catching up with her while doing my shopping. Alas, I was too late for peaches! But in compensation, I bought lots of strawberries and some rhubarb. 

After I came home and ate, Wife and I set off to a park for a hike. This wasn’t as satisfying as most of the hikes we’ve taken--the trails were very confusing and poorly marked at many of the intersections, so we took wrong turns more than once. Also, they were both narrow and somewhat heavily trafficked in some sections, making it awkward to maintain much distance between ourselves and other hikers. Still, aspects of it were nice, and we got some good exercise--there was a very steep uphill section. However, the most exciting part of it was that we saw a family of wild turkeys, including several babies! So the hike was worth it just for that! I heard a woodpecker but couldn’t find it, but I got to point out some chestnut-backed chickadees to Wife, who was charmed by how cute they are. There was a variety of plant life, too, including a dead tree with some good fungi, a bay laurel with fragrant leaves, redwoods (with miner’s lettuce and redwood sorrel at their feet, but we were not supposed to stray from the trail to pick them), ferns, eucalypti, wildflowers, and the first ripe wild blackberries of the season. Being outside in nature and getting a little exercise seemed to relieve Wife’s headache, too.

I’ve solved a couple of cryptic crossword puzzles in the past couple days.

It looks like my county’s daily COVID-19 new confirmed case counts have been higher since late May than they were before that time, but that might be partly because of higher numbers of people getting tested. And the deaths seem to have peaked in April. Number of people in the ICU has remained fairly stable since mid-April, but the number of people in the hospital has roughly been increasing very slowly. Still, it doesn’t look like the protests have resulted in a pandemic upswing.