Backyard Bird Sightings from our Members and Neighbors
Our members have been writing in, telling us about the birds they’ve seen lately at home.
Dani Christensen (San Jose) observed Chestnut-backed Chickadees that were regular visitors to her home earlier this year:
“My favorites are the Chestnut-backed Chickadee pair, Squeaky and Patches, that would regularly come to the window feeder. I named them when they were apparently molting, and Patches was the easy one to recognize with its patchy feathered flanks. I was getting good at recognizing the two, and it was fun to watch how their behavior differed. Patches is the bold one, spending minutes at a time on the feeder without a care in the world, eating nut after nut. Squeaky, on the other hand, is much more timid, and spends just enough time to grab a quick nut out of the feeder, "squeak!", and flit away. All this was easy to watch from the second story bedroom window that the clear plastic feeder was suctioned onto.”
Eve Meier (San Jose) recorded her first Yellow-rumped Warbler of the winter in her yard on September 28. She was also happy to see an American Goldfinch at her bird feeder on October 5. “I usually only see Lesser Goldfinch so the sighting was a special treat for me,” she writes. “Plus, I love their plumage this time of year!”
Eve also had two Red-breasted Nuthatches visit on October 26. They were “quietly talking to each other but I recognized those sounds as well as their calls. I eventually found them in a large fir tree we have in our yard.”
Laura Coatney (Fremont) saw her first Say’s Phoebe of the winter in her neighborhood in late October. “It was a nice surprise and a sign winter is coming (hopefully).”
Suresh Thirumalai (Santa Clara) has been enjoying photographing birds in his yard. Here are some of the birds he spotted in late September and early October:
“I enjoy watching Bewick's Wren moving non-stop from a small bush to trellis and over the backyard fence. Their calls in the morning are a treat to hear and it is a tough subject to photograph!”
“Excited to see the Pacific-slope Flycatcher for the first time in the backyard. Fortunate to capture it as it flew in while I was trying to locate another bird and was nice enough to pose for a few minutes!”
Anna’s Hummingbird: “Ever present in the backyard and love to watch them in flight feeding on the flowers, preening and protecting their territory. It definitely is helping me to improve my photography skills!”
Hugh and Deb McDevitt (San Jose) have been enjoying the fall in their yard. Here’s their report from October 10:
“Fall is the best and "birdiest" time of year for our small backyard in the south part of the Almaden Valley. We are fortunate that one neighbor has a Chinese Pistache tree. Between that tree, our Crepe Myrtle, and our Japanese Maple we get lots of interesting birds. In the past few weeks, we have been getting frequent flocks of Bushtits and smaller flocks of Chestnut-backed Chickadees. Oak Titmice, Bewick's Wrens, Mourning Doves, and Nuttall's Woodpeckers are frequent visitors. Yellow-rumped Warblers have been back for a couple of weeks, and a Hermit Thrush made its first fall visit two days ago. We are hoping for a return of the Red-breasted Sapsucker that visited briefly last winter. Also exciting has been the occasional appearance of a Cooper's Hawk on our fence. Not much territory for this raptor here! We sometimes hear Barn Owls echo-locating as they fly overhead in the early evening. Our best raptor sighting was a flyover adult Bald Eagle several years ago, presumably on its way to Calero Reservoir. Late September to mid-November (as long as the Pistache berries last) is a lively time to be looking at our yard through our sliding glass window to see what might be visiting!”
Sue Pelmulder (San Jose) saw a leucistic bird at her feeder in early October. She canvassed the South Bay Birds e-mail list and the consensus was: a House Finch! The bird returned when she was ready with her camera and she snapped this picture.
What have you seen in your yard recently? Tell us!
Send your notes, photos, and sound clips to backyardbirds@scvas.org. We’ll share submittals on our website.
Banner Photo: Oak Titmice by Hita Bambhania-Modha