April 13 - 19

So, among the birds this week, I saw a little wren, which I think was a winter wren; a thrush I couldn't see clearly enough to identify; a hawk that may have been a red-tailed, but I think was probably a Cooper's, it was flying, and just didn't look right for a red-tailed.  I also saw a fox sparrow, which is not common, I saw one just once or twice last year.  A ruby-crowned kinglet, song sparrow, and brown creepers, two at once one day.  We also had a chipmunk eating the seed the birds dropped from the feeder. 

Common birds: junco (5 days), house sparrow (6 days), robin (7 days), starling (6 days), mourning dove (6 days), red-breasted nuthatch (2 days), swan (4 days), Canada goose (2 days), cardinal (pair, 5 days), chickadee (2 days), grackle (3 days), goldfinch, blue jay (2 days), red-tailed hawk (flying), crow, downy woodpecker (male, female?), turkey vulture, cormorant

Spring visitors: red-wing blackbird (4-5 days), song sparrow (3 days), fox sparrow, brown creeper (1-2, 2 days), ruby-crowned kinglet

Not sure: wren (probably winter), thrush, hawk (RT? Coop?)

April 6 - 12

Common birds: junco (7 days), mourning dove (7 days), house sparrow (4-5 days), robin (7 days), Canada goose, starling (6 days), red-breasted nuthatch (3 days), chickadee (1-2, 4 days), cardinal (male 2 days, pair +3 days), downy woodpecker (male 1 day, female 1 day), red-wing blackbird (2 days), goldfinch

Spring visitors: brown creeper, song sparrow, chipping sparrow

Not sure: turkey vulture (likely), cormorant?

The turkey vulture is likely, seen flying overhead, large and dark.  The cormorant, well, water-bird like, possibly duck, but the shape looked like a cormorant.  The chipping sparrow, I'm pretty sure that's what it was.  It was a sparrow, with a red-brown cap, unstreaked breast, and seemed to have a little eye bar.  It was too quick to be totally sure - American Tree (has dark spot on breast), is also possible. 

See next post for additional tags. 

pt. 2

Adding tags for March 30 to April 5.  On one or two days, it was hard to tell whether the blackbird shaped bird I was seeing was the redwing or the cowbird, because of the light conditions.  Other days it was clear. 

October 11

Common birds: chickadee (2), house sparrow

Fall visitors: brown creeper, white throated sparrow (2), golden crowned kinglet (2)

October 9

Common birds: chickadee (3+), goldfinch, house sparrow, mourning dove, downy woodpecker (male), red-breasted nuthatch, turkey vulture (19+), cardinal (pair), Canada goose

Fall visitors: white throated sparrow, golden crowned kinglet, brown creeper

Not sure: I saw the/a small bird of prey, actually two of them, perched and flying.  I'm still wondering what this is, if it's a merlin, or a peregrine falcon, or if I am seeing both on different days. I wrote merlin? in my notes. 

There were a number of turkey vultures.  Some were flying quite low over the garden.  I counted 19, there may have been more. 

September 28 & other recent

Some  of the common birds in today's post were seen today, others in previous days.  The fall visitors are today's.  I also saw the red-eyed vireo today, which is not one I've identified here before.  I was able to see the red eye, which is also a feature.  I may have misidentified it as the Philadelphia vireo sometimes, but the Philadelphia has a yellowy front, the red-eyed is creamy/white. 

Common Birds: red-breasted nuthatch, chickadee (3+), goldfinch(es), cardinal (pair), gull(s), robin

Fall visitors: wren (ID?), white throated sparrow, red-eyed vireo, yellow-bellied sapsucker, brown creeper, flicker?

I didn't write down which wren I thought this was.  See upcoming (October) posts for more on wrens. 

May 9

Common birds: robin, mourning dove, cardinal (pair), crow, chickadee, house sparrow

Spring visitors: brown creeper, yellow rumped warbler, black and white warbler, chipping sparrow, white crowned sparrow, magnolia warbler, redwing blackbird

Likely: yellow warbler, parula warbler, palm warbler, ruby-crowned kinglet

April 19

Common birds: house sparrow, starling, robin, red-wing blackbird (pair), cardinal (pair), downy woodpecker (pair), mourning dove

Spring visitors: chipping sparrow, junco, brown creeper

April 13

Common birds: starling, grackle, cardinal (pair), red-wing blackbird, robin, chickadee

Spring visitors: junco, white throated sparrow, brown creeper, golden crowned kinglet, thrush (veery?), chipping sparrow (?)

April 8

Common birds: cardinal (pair), starling, house sparrow, blue jay, robin, grackle

Spring visitors: junco, brown creeper

Overhead: hawk (red-tailed?)

the brown creeper / September 27

Sat outside enjoying the weather for a while.  It's fall, and feels like it, but still warm and sunny. 

Common birds: house sparrow, red-breasted nuthatch, chickadee, downy woodpecker, starling, blue jay, goldfinch

Fall visitors: yellow-bellied sapsucker, brown creeper

Overhead: gull

the sapsucker / September 25

Well the birds kept me busy today.  I've found that over the past few days, the late morning/lunchtime is the time I see the most activity in the garden.  It also seems the fall migration is underway, based on the variety of bird life. 

The flycatcher is still confusing.  I think it's the eastern phoebe, but it's hard to get a great look.  I did see whatever it is today.

I also had other surprises - one being the presence of one or more yellow bellied sapsuckers, actually in my neighbour's big trees, but visible from my garden.  The other was the little red-breasted nuthatch, which is not uncommon, but I was standing under 3 feet away from the suet feeder, when the nuthatch came to eat.  Although the nuthatch never sits still for long, it was there longer than I expected, I just stood still and watched.

There were a couple of hawks, they seemed small, but they may just have been high up.  It wasn't the kestrel, as that had sharp wings, so probably the red-tailed we often see here. 

Common birds:  house sparrow, cardinal (male), blue jay, grackle, starling, chickadee, robin, goldfinch (pair), downy woodpecker, mourning dove

Fall visitors: brown creeper, nashville warbler, yellow bellied sapsucker, flicker, black throated green warbler, ruby-crowned kinglet, golden-crowned kinglet, white throated sparrow, eastern phoebe (?)

Overhead: gull, Canada goose, hawk(?)

the puzzle / August 17

Two birds I can't identify today.  One brown, on a tree trunk.  I am guessing it was a brown creeper, which we have seen around before, but I just didn't get a good look at this one.
The other, a warbler, or something similar.  Small and warbler like in size, shape, and movement, with a straight, sharp beak, white eye ring, 2 white wing bars with a black bar between them, distinct olive on its cap and back, strong grey on its tail, wings, back and face (above the beak), whitish chin, chest, belly to the start of the tail.  No streaking, no eye bar, and no yellow.

My first reaction was a ruby-crowned kinglet, second was a northern parula warbler, but neither is right. 

Common birds: house sparrow, cardinal (pair), mourning dove, red-breasted nuthatch, chickadee, starling, robin, goldfinch (male)

Overhead: gull

Heard: blue jay

Uncertain: brown creeper?, warbler?

Previously spotted...

It's only morning, so I haven't completed today's list, but I thought I would add a list of some of the birds I've seen already this spring, before beginning this journal.  I've omitted from this list the most common ones.

Over the winter, we get juncos, which summer further north, so they leave this area in early spring.

Since early April, and in no particular order, I've seen blue jays, goldfinches, chickadees, house finches, downy woodpecker, red tailed hawk.  These are not uncommon.

More seasonally, I've seen both golden crowned and ruby crowned kinglets, an ovenbird (mid May), a brown creeper, red breasted and white breasted nuthatches, baltimore oriole, white crowned sparrow, and what is most likely a least flycatcher (mid May) - though there are a couple of other flycatchers/phoebes that are similar. 

I also think I've seen a couple of warblers, but did not get a good enough look to be sure, or to tell what kind they might have been.  One was possibly a palm warbler, which I've seen in previous years, but the chipping sparrow has a similar chestnut cap on its head so without a better view of it, it's possible that's what I was seeing.