Backyard Birds Archives

Posted on February 20, 2011 by Barb — 9 Comments

GBBC and Birdzilla and Our Enthusiasm

Our “squirrel-proof” birdfeeder is very popular with the finches and sparrows.

The excitement for the Great Backyard Bird Count mounted last week all over the blogging world, especially among homeschoolers. I could feel it here at the Handbook of Nature Study as so many families prepared to participate. Birdzilla was the talk of the bird blogs….check it out for your state.

Black oil sunflower seeds are the seed of choice at our feeders. You can read some more tips HERE.

Our family has been a long time fan of the GBBC but the enthusiasm I felt became a little contagious as the boys helped me count birds most of Friday afternoon from our windows, watching our feeders and trees. Much to our surprise, the day before it had snowed so Friday was cold and there were patches of snow on the ground. The birds didn’t seem to mind.

Friday’s Count:
American robins – 5
Mourning doves – 2
Acorn woodpeckers – 2 (tapping on the side of our house!)
Nuttall’s woodpecker – 1
Norther flicker – 1 (he has become a regular visitor to our back grass)
Oak titmouse – 1
White-breasted nuthatch – 1
Spotted towhee – 5
California towhee – 2
White-crowned sparrow – 14
Dark-eyed junco – 15
House finch – 5
House sparrow – 5
Cedar waxwing – 57


Cedar Waxwings

Yes, we saw fifty-seven cedar waxwings and it was the spot of the day. Here is the story. We were about to finish up our counting and I said to one of my boys that I was disappointed that we didn’t see any cedar waxwings. We changed windows for a last look and honestly….a flock flew into the tree in our neighbor’s yard at that very moment. It was amazing. I truly would have been satisfied to have seen the flicker again but the cedar waxwings made the whole thing perfect.

We woke to snow on the ground again on Saturday and I was up early looking out the windows. The bird spotting of the day was to see the robins sitting in the snow-filled tree outside our window.There were a dozen of them sitting in the frozen morning world, quiet and still.

California Towhee

The snow melted quickly and we had another bird filled day. We counted at our feeders again but when we went on our afternoon walk we heard and then spotted a red-tailed hawk flying high over our heads. I felt like he appeared just for us. Thanks Mr. Red-Tail.

The only other bird we added to our list for Saturday was the Western Scrub Jay. He can be a very aggressive bird but isn’t he pretty in the morning sunshine? The Western Scrub Jay’s brilliant color almost makes up for not having any cardinals in our part of the world. Almost. The rest of the numbers were higher for most of our regular visitors on Saturday since the weather was actually quite nice by the afternoon hours.

It is not too late to join in the fun and you can spend as little as fifteen minutes looking for birds if that is all you can spare. Read more about the Great Backyard Bird Count and share your list with the Outdoor Hour Challenge too!

Posted on February 18, 2011January 14, 2022 by Barb — 8 Comments

2011 Winter Series Outdoor Hour Challenge #7 and Winter Wednesday #8 Winter Birds

I thought we would line up these two challenges this week as many of us prepare to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count. I realize that the Winter Wednesday challenge is out of order but it just seems to make sense.We will do winter insects next week.

Winter Series Outdoor Hour Challenge #7 Winter Birds (including bird migration)
Winter Wednesday #8 Winter Birds (How do birds survive the winter?)

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Barb — 4 Comments

Bird Nature Journal Ideas and the Great Backyard Bird Count Reminder

I am getting ready to count birds now that the seasons are changing. We have so many birds at our feeders these days that it is going to be interesting to see the comparisons between last year and this year.

Here is the official video announcing and explaining the Great Backyard Bird Count!

I also found this link very helpful in learning more about feeding our backyard birds.

You may wish to make a record of the birds your family observes in your nature journal. Our family likes to look back over the years and see how our lists compare.

Here are some ideas for recordkeeping:

A simple list is a great place to start. Record the date, the bird species, the location. You could keep a list for each day of the GBBC and then insert it into your nature journal or add to your life list. (There is a link to this particular bird log at the bottom of this page.)

I also keep a running list of birds on one of the free notebook pages from my friend Tina that she made for the Outdoor Hour Challenges.

A few years ago, our family made cards for each bird we observed. The pdf for the captions can be found HERE. You can see what they looked like HERE.

We also use the coloring pages from Cornell’s Backyard Feeder Coloring Book as a way to record birds we see in our backyard. I print out the table of contents and keep it for reference and as a reminder of what birds are available in the coloring book.

Both of my bird field guides have places for you to record the birds we have observed. It is a handy place to keep your record since you will normally have your field guide on hand.

In the Peterson guide there is a checklist in the back of the book. It looks like the newest edition of this book(which I don’t have) has a life list in the back of the book.

In the Audubon guide there is an index with circles to check off as you observe a bird.

I am eager to count birds this weekend and will probably be able to participate on two of the days with my family.
Also I am highly recommending that you purchase the Bird Bundle from NotebookingPages.com as a great supplement to your study of birds using the Outdoor Hour Challenge. Note: These are affiliate links.

Use code discount5 to save $5 on any purchase $10 or more from the NotebookingPages.com Shop. (This does not include membership purchases.)

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Barb — 5 Comments

Pines, Evergreens, Cones, and Needles

This week has been full of nature study….the informal kind that happens as we go about our everyday life. My boys are a big part of the experience and they discover things in our world that I miss. Their eyes seem to be open to so much around them, while my head is full of schedules and tasks that need to be done. I really must make a conscious effort to clear my head more when we are outdoors.

First of all, before I get into the pines and cones, I have to share a rare visitor to our backyard. This Northern flicker was up on the tree and Mr. A spotted it and brought it to my attention. Not the first time we have ever had a flicker in the yard but it has been a long time since we observed this interesting bird. They eat bugs and insects from the grass below the tree but they are considered woodpeckers. They also have a red flash on their wings when they fly.

Our focus on cones and needles this week was highlighted by two events.

The first happened last week when we had a huge windstorm with lots of gusts. The wind brought down small branches and cones on the trail where we walk and we were able to get a good look at both. These are not from a pine but a fir tree, Douglas fir. I love what it says in our field guide about the Douglas fir cone. It says, “mouse tail bracts grow between scales”. Sure enough…there they are.

The second event was a walk on our walking trail where we were trying to notice something interesting about pines. Here is a spot on the trail where there are two different pines growing side by side.

Notice the two different colors of needles.

They both have bundles of three and are about the same length. We are pretty sure after much study of our field guides and online sources that one is a Gray pine and the other is a Ponderosa pine. We are going to take our field guide back with us later today and see if we can nail the identification down positively.

What a great week we have had looking for cones and pines! I know that many of you are experiencing cold snowy weather but here in our woods we are enjoying abundant sunshine and no precipitation.

Guess what I spotted yesterday in my garden? The first daffodil of the year is starting to bloom! Crazy, crazy weather for us too!

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Barb — 8 Comments

Acorn Woodpecker – Visitor to Our Backyard

Look at that beak! We were surprised when we looked out the window a few days ago and we saw three woodpeckers in our backyard. They were large birds and very colorful. They looked a little different than our “normal” woodpeckers so we had to look them up to identify them for sure.

We decided it is an Acorn woodpecker.

This beautiful bird is welcome in our yard at any time.

Here is a link to All About Birds for the Acorn Woodpecker.
We found a coloring page that will help us draw this bird in our nature journals.

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Barb — 6 Comments

Tweet and See Post January 2011

We are so ready for the Great Backyard Bird Count and this month we thought we would join Heather over on her blog Kingdom Arrows for a new bird meme.

We live at about 2000 feet in elevation, in North-Central California, foothills of the Sierra Nevada.
Our yard has pine and oak trees as the natural habitat, supplemented with a variety of bird attracting features like sheltering bushes near feeders, birdbaths at both ends of the yard, and seed bearing plants.
Weather this month has been unusually warm, very little rain, and absolutely no snow.

Here is our list for our yard– I have starred the most common birds at our feeders:

Dark-eyed juncos***
House sparrows***
Spotted towhees
California towhees
Western scrub jays***
White-breasted nuthatches***
Mourning doves
Lesser goldfinches***
Downy woodpeckers
Nuttall’s woodpeckers
American crows
Oak titmouse***
House finches***
Purple finches***
White-crowned sparrows***
Hummingbird—not sure of identification. We are thinking it was migratory.
Northern mockingbird

In our travels-

Mallard ducks
Common mergansers
Red-tail hawks
Cooper’s hawk
Red-breasted nuthatches
Steller’s jays
Red-winged blackbirds
Rock pigeons
Western bluebirds

We have been out looking for bald eagles but so far we have not scored a sighting. Our friend did last week so we are not going to give up!

Don’t forget!!!

Posted on January 20, 2011 by Barb — 4 Comments

Just a Few Backyard Birds…And a New Bird Resource

Are you ready for some more bird photos? I have been busy a little bit each day taking advantage of the dry weather to keep track of the backyard birds that visit.

First up in my son’s camera is the Downy Woodpecker. He set up the camera on a tripod and we all watched until we saw the woodpecker visit the suet feeder. He was able to snap a few good shots as the bird ate a little lunch. This is a large and colorful bird that we always look forward to seeing in our backyard. Here is a LINK to what he sounds like.

If you have read my blog with any frequency you know that we have an abundance of Western Scrub Jays in our backyard, even a nesting pair. They always seem to know when I put out their favorite treats….peanuts and walnuts.

We have a pair of White-breasted nuthatches that come every day to our backyard. They are so much fun to watch as they climb up and down the trunks of trees, occasionally stopping to look for insects in the bark.
Here is a LINK to a video showing how they climb.

Oops! That is certainly not a bird! This fox squirrel is one of three that are daily in our birdfeeders. In fact, as I look out my window at this very moment there is one in the feeder that I can see. I have given up trying to keep them out of the feeders and I added one squirrel-proof feeder to another area just so the birds will still have a place to eat when the squirrels are in town.

I don’t think I have shared the link to a new bird related page that I wrote over on Squidoo. Hop over and maybe you will find some fresh ideas for your yard.

How to Help Birds Survive the Winter

Tomorrow I will be posting the third challenges in the Winter and Winter Wednesday series. Don’t forget to link up your entries for the first two challenges since you are never late!

Posted on January 13, 2011 by Barb — 5 Comments

Time for Listening

Sometimes it is just nice to listen.

There is a time for listening to the quiet sounds of nature, letting it wash over us, clearing our heads. The little voices of thought can be heard without the constant hum of inside life.

Then after we have bathed ourselves in the sounds of the outdoors we somehow bring that back with us and share it with others, having refreshed our own spirits.

I found a few moments this morning in between sprinkles of rain to watch a few birds, take a few photos, and have a quiet time away from the busy morning routine.

Enjoy a few images from my listening time….

Western scrub jays are frequent visitors to our feeders and this week they have been chasing the smaller birds away so they can gobble up all the sunflower seeds.These birds are not even afraid of the squirrels that are competing with them for food. The birds will squawk and the squirrels will chatter and it is quite the scene.

The goldfinches don’t mess with the jays and they hang out in the sweet gum tree, hanging upside down to snatch the seeds from the sticker balls.

Here you can see the goldfinch’s color as he reaches over to his snack.

Winter is a good time for listening.

Posted on December 24, 2010 by Barb — 8 Comments

Eureka! Finally Found the New Link! Cornell’s Bird Coloring Book!

I have received so many emails about this coloring book link. Cornell changed the link and it has been near impossible to find online but today I stumbled across the classic bird coloring book for you to download.

Feeder Birds Coloring Book

Make sure to download and save the PDF so you will have it when you need it!

Enjoy.

Posted on November 26, 2010 by Barb — 3 Comments

Birds in Our November World

Can you believe it is almost December? I thought I could fit in another November World post or two before the end of the month. It is surprising what you will see if keep your eyes open!

It has been really cold the last week or so and when I opened my blinds early in the morning a few days ago, this is what I saw at my birdfeeder.

Mr. Hummingbird.

We still have hummingbirds in our yard although the temperatures have been in the low 30s and the world has been frozen. Another day I saw some hummingbirds in my remaining lavender blooms in the front yard. One morning the feeder was frozen so I had to bring it in and defrost it and refill it with more liquid. Two hummingbirds come regularly and sit and feed for long periods of time and then they fly off. I am not sure if they are the same birds over and over or whether they are different birds migrating. So many questions….

Later in the day, this Northern Flicker (red shafted) caught my son’s attention and he had to run in and get me to see it. Over the years Mr. A has become a great spotter of birds and I think it is because we have taken the time, one bird at a time, to get to know them and their habits.

The Chinese pistache tree in our front yard has little red-orange nuts on it this time of year. The local birds come here quite frequently and there seems to be quite a few migratory birds that stop by once or twice a year to enjoy the nuts. Here is a whole gang of different birds in the tree at one time.

One of my favorite colorful birds was visiting, the Cedar Waxwing.

Mr American Robin was there too making his presence known.

And don’t forget Mr. Western bluebird. I see these just about every day now and I love them. We are thinking of finding a place to put a bluebird house for them to nest in but we need to do some more research about size and location.

November World birds seem to cheer even the coldest day up!

Category: Backyard Birds