Backyard Birds During the First Two Months (!) of Sheltering In Place

We're about to start week 9 of sheltering in place, and for me at least, the time has gone by quickly. I'm thankful that many of my interests are compatible with not leaving the house. The main exception these days with my relatively new obsessiveness with taking photos of birds, but the backyard has been a boon in that arena. Since mid-March, I have added 7 species to my list of birds seen in the backyard. The first, way back on April 5th, was either a Rufous or an Allen's Hummingbird. The two species are hard to tell apart, especially the females and juveniles. While I saw a male a couple of times, it was always gone by the time I got out there with my camera, but I did get a couple of photos of a female (or possibly a juvenile).

Next up was an Eurasian Collared Dove, which is of course an invasive species here, but I was still excited because I hadn't noted this species previously (I say "noted" because I've only been really paying attention to birds for a year or two, so while I may have seen one before, it wouldn't have mattered at the time). It was sitting on top a pole at the far end of a neighbor's yard, looking for all the world like a miniature gull until I zoomed in.

This was followed by a sighting of a Double-crested Cormorant quickly flying past. I did get a photo, but was of even poorer quality than usual.

The beginning of May came with three new additions. Over at the end of the neighbor's yard, I've now seen a female Western Tanager a couple of times, and a Black-headed Grosbeak once.

The most unusual sighting happened while I was scanning the sky. I often hear the noise from flocks of California Gulls as they wheel around in apparent confusion high above. They're probably wondering why all of the parking lot snacks have been replaced by inedible disposable gloves. While scanning, I saw a couple of small, dark silhouettes high up to the south. They looked like Turkey Vultures, but I took a few photos anyway (I love Turkey Vultures, but I have some nice close-ups, so I knew that taking pictures of distant ones wasn't going to result in anything better that what I already have). When reviewing the photos, I realized that they weren't Turkey Vultures. They had the same basic shape and coloration, but there where lighter patches where there shouldn't have been, and one of the bird's heads caught the light just so, revealing coppery gold plumage. They were Golden Eagles. I had always read that they tend to stay away from built-up areas, and sure, as the eagle flies, they weren't far from the hills, but still it was unexpected to see them above the suburbs.

In addition to these relative rarities, we have the regulars. There is a pair of Bewick's Wren (pronounced "Buick's", I recently learned) and a pair of California Towhees nesting in the yard. The Towhees love stealing chicken food. A Black Phoebe is drawn to the yard by our abundance of flies. House Finches may or may not have a nest in the avocado tree. I've seen a fledgling hopping around on the wire begging for food, supplied by a very patient mom.

We've run out of bird seed for the feeder though, so the finches are slightly more distant now. There are a couple of Lesser Goldfinches that I see almost every day, and a pair of Anna's Hummingbirds who regularly visit. There is a crow who hangs out above the other neighbor's yard, and due to its slightly less dapper appearance and tendency to ignore scrutiny might be a juvenile.

Oh year, there is a trio of Brown-headed Cowbirds who like hanging out on top of the power poles. Their courtship displays are fun to watch (or at least I assume the weird head movements and such are courtship displays). I managed to get a relatively close-up shot of the female when she landed on the fence recently.

Working from home continues apace, with one day merging into another. This week, I managed to go up to camp three times, once to check the nature lab, once to film some distance learning segments, and once to take a hike through Sanborn Park with my friend and co-worker, Jellyfish. The main difference between business as usual and our current situation is that there a lot more people on the trails during the week, and many of them can't seem to hold onto their stuff. There was a small pair of shorts floating in the pond (the one we've dubbed "Newt York City") near the visitor's center at Sanborn Park, a couple of lost hats, extra bits of micro trash, and of course the usual bags of dog shit (don't get me started). We've probably been noticing a few more animals than usual, but that's only because there aren't 20 kids trailing after us. Even when kids are quiet, they're loud. I've been taking photos on trail too, but I'll save those highlights for another post.

On my Tuesday excursion, I even took a trip up the hill to visit Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve, which was the first time I've been hiking anywhere besides Sanborn Park since mid-March.