19-SEP-2010
Western Scrub-Jay #9943
On Sunday morning, visiting our daughter in San Marcos, we went for a relaxing walk around Discovery Lake. There are always lots of people there, and the area has a lot of birds. This Western Scrub-Jay found a fence post where someone had set out some seed, and is enjoying breakfast.
18-SEP-2010
Red-shouldered Hawk #9793
On Saturday, visiting our daughter in San Marcos, CA, we went to the San Diego Zoo. We went to all the three aviaries, but the picture I thought I would put here is one of a bird in the open trees outside the aviaries. I am pretty sure this is a Red-shouldered Hawk, reasonably common in the southern California area.
17-SEP-2010
Anna's Hummingbird #9511
Anna's Hummingbirds are uncommon in northern New Mexico, and I cannot find any sightings of them in Los Alamos county. They are found occasionally in the southern-most parts of the state, and mostly frequent the Pacific West Coast. This particular fellow thinks he owns the tree next to my daughter's house; he'll sit there, go off and visit a flower bush, and come back. He always sits right at the same twig on the tree, and scans everywhere like he is making a plan for what to do next.
16-SEP-2010
House Wren #9379
Here we are in sunny San Diego, visiting our oldest daughter for the weekend. As we awoke we heard this bird causing a racket outside; the bird I think is a House Wren (not a visitor in NM for me). I have never heard so much noise come out of such a little animal.
15-SEP-2010
A Few days of Vacation ...
For the next several days, we're off to Southern California to visit a daughter. This is also high school soccer season, and it's awfully hard to juggle soccer games and birds, so I have been missing a few days here and there.
That's not such a big deal, for the most part the way it looks in my back yard is that all the birds in the world are Pine Siskins, and then more Pine Siskins, mixed in with some House Finches, White-winged Doves, and House Sparrows. If you do not have enough pictures of these birds already, let me know and I will cheerfully send you some extras.
While I am in San Diego, we'll see if there's any different birds there...
14-SEP-2010
Black-chinned Hummingbird #9361
The hummingbird activity is slowing down a bit, but they are regularly visiting the blossoms on the Hibiscus plant. This Black-chinned female is extracting nectar from the base of the flower bud.
13-SEP-2010
White-winged Dove #9212
We are seeing fairly large numbers of White-winged Doves. They congregate in the pear tree and have figured out how to get seed from the finch feeder. Earlier in the season, the Eurasian Collared-Doves would chase the White-winged Doves away; now, even though I can hear the Collared-Doves, they are staying away form the feeders and the pond.
11-SEP-2010
Pine Siskin #9096
This Pine Siskin shows the broad yellow patch on his wings above his secondaries. The Pine Siskins have continued to be the most common visitor in the last few weeks.
08-SEP-2010
Canyon Towhee in the rain #5342
It was a bit rainy today, mostly drizzle, but enough to get the birds wet. This Canyon Towhee looks a bit worse for wear, but because his feathers are a bit damp, he shows clearly the buff color on his head and tail.
07-SEP-2010
Lark Sparrow #5127
I was surprised to see this Lark Sparrow, a new bird for this location for me. He was hopping around the edge of the pond, trying to decide if he wanted to take a drink.
06-SEP-2010
Turkey Vulture #5074
We do have Turkey Vultures around during the summer, and they never come down near the ground in our residential area, but they can occasionally be seen circling overhead. They roost in the pine trees in the nearby forested areas.
05-SEP-2010
House Finch #4901
The House Finches are still in abundance, but cannot keep up with the swarms of Pine Siskins, so there numbers are a bit down. This female is patiently waiting her turn at the feeder.