ALL AROUND TOWN

Backyard Bird Sightings from our Members and Friends

Fall has arrived, and with the changing of the seasons, our winter resident birds have been arriving. Many of you spotted your first White-crowned and Golden-crowned Sparrows of the season in September. You also saw your first Yellow-rumped Warblers, our most common winter warbler, and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. American Robins and Northern Flickers are starting to pop up in yards.

Four new species made their All Around Town debut this month. The Rock Pigeon and the European Starling are common birds that are often left off birders’ lists but are an important part of our local landscape. The Western Screech-Owl was heard by one of our contributors, thus completing the trifecta of more-common local owls that have been reported in this column (the other two are the Barn Owl and the Great Horned Owl). And while keeping her eyes on the skies, another contributor reported Greater White-fronted Geese flying over her neighborhood, together with our usual Canada Geese.

Here’s what you’ve spotted in your yards and neighborhoods recently:

In early September, Eve Meier (San Jose) wrote: “The other night, my husband and I heard a Great Horned Owl softly calling from our backyard while we were getting ready for bed. It's such a peaceful, relaxing sound.”

*European Starling in Jack’s neighborhood*

On September 20, Jack Cole (San Jose) saw his first American Robin of the winter season on his birdbath. He adds: “Two honkers (geese) flew over the other day. And last week, a tall redwood tree nearby was full of whistling European Starlings.”

On September 26, Kathleen Cahill (San Jose) saw two White-crowned Sparrows in her backyard coffeeberry tree.

*Northern Flicker in Monica’s neighborhood*

Monica N. (Milpitas) reports: “On September 28, I woke up hearing a Northern Flicker. On September 30, I went to my neighborhood park and saw a male and female pair of flickers as my first-of-season sightings. At the park I also saw half a dozen White-crowned Sparrows and Yellow-rumped Warblers.”

*Yellow-rumped Warbler spotted by Monica*

She adds: “The Northern Mockingbirds are enjoying the abundant goji berries we have in our yard now. The mockingbirds in my neighborhood are very adept at mocking even flickers’ calls, but now I know for sure that the flickers have come back.”

*Greater White-fronted Geese flying over Monica’s neighborhood*

Here is Monica’s neighborhood bird list for September:

Greater White-fronted Goose - “up to ten mixed in with a Canada Goose flock, I can see the orange legs and black spotted bellies”
Canada Goose - “saw a flock of 70 migrating up high one day and a flock of 35 another day”
Hummingbird species
Turkey Vulture
Cooper’s Hawk - “One crashed into the neighbor’s rose bushes and made loud weird calls. It seemed okay and disappeared later.”
Red-tailed Hawk
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Oak Titmouse
Bewick’s Wren
European Starling - “They are always on the front yard redwood tree, on and off all day.”
Northern Mockingbird
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
White-crowned Sparrow
Yellow-rumped Warbler

*Pygmy Nuthatches enjoying Barbara’s feeder*

Barbara Coll (Menlo Park) wrote at the end of September: “Once again it is the Pygmy Nuthatches that rule my front yard but I’m super happy to have started seeing and hearing a Brown Creeper regularly.”

She adds: “I saw two Red-Shouldered Hawks high in the redwoods, one quite larger than the other so I’m guessing she was the female as they are usually about 25% larger than the males.”

*Red-shouldered Hawk observed by Barbara*

Deanne Tucker (Los Altos) took this picture of a White-crowned Sparrow in her yard on September 26.

*Immature White-crowned Sparrow in Deanne’s yard*

Emma Shelton (Menlo Park) writes: “I thought it would be a ho-hum month for birds in the yard, but it got more exciting as September worked into October. Plus there was the September 18 SFBBO Bird Photo Big Day and the October 9 eBird Big Day! Plus we had our birder son visiting for a few days and it was bird, bird, bird all day.”

“We are kind of amazed that such a small yard as ours plus a small section of neighborhood is host to so many different birds!”

Here’s Emma’s neighborhood bird list for September and early October:

Mourning Dove
Rock Pigeon - “I’m adding this guy to the list since they do hang out by the dozens at the end of the street and above the traffic lights. Wouldn’t want anyone to think they are going extinct.”
Anna’s Hummingbird - “every day slurping on the salvias and geraniums”
Gull species
Turkey Vulture - “not a usual occurrence over our yard, but one did fly over on 9/18”
Cooper’s Hawk
Western Screech-Owl - “Every once in a while I can hear one when I sit in the backyard in the evening.”

Downy Woodpecker - “showed up for the Bird Photo Big Day in the front yard in the quince bush and on the suet”
California Scrub-Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Oak Titmouse
Bushtit
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - “My son spotted one in the backyard a couple days ago!”
White-breasted Nuthatch - “Every day I wake up to their squirps (as well as the Spotted Towhees). We love these guys.”
Pygmy Nuthatch - “Almost every day we see a couple in the backyard on the feeder. So cute!”

*Bewick’s Wren inspecting Emma’s potted plants*

Bewick’s Wren - “We have our little Bewies hopping through the shrubbery every day, sometimes gathering seed and flitting off.”
Hermit or Swainson’s Thrush - “We saw a bird in the neighbor’s redwood tree a couple days ago and my son says it was one of the thrushes. He always has his binos around his neck.”
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow - “They just started showing up again three weeks ago (late September)! At first I was puzzled, but from SCVAS e-mails and Instagram I realized - they’re back!”

*Golden-crowned Sparrows have returned to Emma’s yard again for the winter*

Golden-crowned Sparrow - “They are back too!!! Hearing their wet-weh-weh song again.”
California Towhee - “Several all over the front and back yards doing their Towhee Thing on the ground”
Spotted Towhee
Yellow-rumped Warbler - “Spotted by my son in the backyard a couple days ago, jumping through the photinia bush”

Emma captured this low-intensity “battle of the hatches” at her feeder recently. Scroll through the pictures to see a White-breasted Nuthatch tell a Pygmy Nuthatch who’s in charge!