Hello friends - Happy Spring! I'm very glad to be back on the blog and excited to share with you some images of the birds that we have had the pleasure of watching in our backyard here in the Willamette Valley of Oregon.
I am still learning how to use my new (second hand) Lumix GH2 camera. With its 45-200mm telephoto lens it is by far the best camera I have ever had for photographing from a distance. For years I longed for a camera that could be used for bird photography and the GH2 came with not only the standard 14-42mm lens, but also the telephoto lens mentioned. It was within my budget and I am very happy to have it.
Already this new year has brought a surprising variety of birds to our small humble backyard garden. There have always been, and continues to be, the usual sparrows, blue jays and starlings. But so far, this year has been different. There have been a few new species. For instance, our latest visiter, this Red-Breasted Sapsucker, (a kind of Woodpecker) flew into our yard just this past weekend. It went straight to Jim's maple tree and set about vigorously eating insects and/or drinking sap. It only stayed a short while and then was gone. How lucky we were to see this!
Also surprising was this pair of Eurasian Collared-Doves. They started arriving in our garden in early March and soon were visiting 2-3 times every day. At first they were a bit shy and would only perch on our privacy fence for a short period and then leave. But over the course of a few weeks their visits became longer and they began to feed. It's so cute how they seem to enjoy each other's company. They stay in close proximity to one another and spend quite a bit of time pruning.
My bird book says their diet is almost exclusively from seeds on the ground. I suspect the reason they came to visit in the first place is because we always have seed strewn all around the yard. Also, there are lots of sparrows, juncos and towhees that come here to feed and the doves seemed comfortable joining in and eating alongside them.
It's hard to say if the two we saw were the same pair every time, but it was a very unusual (and welcomed) visit!
Then, just as I was feeling sad that the Eurasian Collared-Doves were already moving on, there was another astonishing bird watching moment. Another kind of dove arrived! This is the Mourning Dove.
The Mourning Dove is a bit smaller and more slender than the Eurasian Collared-Dove. It has a pointed tail and black spots on its wings, whereas the Collared-Dove has a blunt tail and a black collar on the nape. Like the Collared-Dove, they are also seed eaters.
Such a pretty blue color around its eye and on its beak, don't you agree?
We experienced some other new (to us) bird sightings in the later part of the winter also. For example, in the past we had sighted American Robins in the neighborhood but never had the pleasure of any of them visiting our backyard garden. But this year they did!
I think the Robins may have finally discovered our holly trees with their abundance of berries. They seemed to eat a lot of them. It was fun to watch them pick the berries off the stems and with one gulp - gone!
I discovered that Robins like to travel from place to place in a group, but while they are foraging and resting each keeps a bit of distance from the others.
Robins are also extremely adept hunters. They are remarkably good at standing perfectly still while they scout for worms and insects. And when they see one, they pounce!
Theirs was another short (maybe 2 weeks?) but oh so enjoyable visit.
Like the Red-Breasted Sapsucker, this House Finch came and went rather quickly. My bird book says they are regulars at sunflower feeders and this one is (hopefully) enjoying just that.
And lastly, here are a few images of our regular, year round visitors. First is the Downy Woodpecker. The Downy loves suet cake, although they also eat insects, fruits and seeds. It appears to forage alone, as we always have just one visiting at a time.
This Cassin's Vireo, also called the Solitary Vireo is one of the smallest birds we've had visit our backyard. They are only about 5-1/2" in size. They also forage alone, although we often see the Vireo amongst the sparrows and juncos. Like the Downy Woodpecker, the Vireo comes for the suet cake.
And last is the Oregon Junco, another seed eater. I captured this one eating a millet seed. The Juncos arrive in the early autumn and stay through late spring. They are often seen with sparrows and towhees.
Birdwatching has been a favorite hobby of mine for a number of years. It's a small daily pleasure to sit at our kitchen table, tea or coffee in hand, and look out onto the garden waiting for the birds to arrive, watch them eat and observe their habits. Do you have a small daily pleasure?
As always, thank you for reading.
