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Category Archives: birds

Winter is Here!

Snow has been falling since the wee hours of the morning. I think the forecast said it would end by midday but it only slowed for a bit and then kept coming! We have been waiting for the snow for a while and no doubt, will be tired of it before it all goes away. Ski trails are getting groomed and we will soon be out there with all the other snow lovers in the valley.

In addition to new snow, the Fed Ex driver (after getting stuck on our driveway) brought me a new camera! Not many things more fun than a new camera. Well, maybe a puppy but we are not looking for a puppy right now.

So I ventured out in the snow. Finches crowded the feeders and didn’t mind my presence. The dogs were not so sure about staying out too long, especially Luna. They were somewhat cooperative.

Perched in the Morning Sun

This pair of Bald Eagles enjoyed some morning sunshine on one of the snags in front of our house recently. I have been seeing a lot of eagles in the valley recently. I think they are eating spawned out salmon.

Camp Robbers

If you spend much time hiking or camping in the Cascades, sooner or later, you will be surrounded by Camp Robbers and I hope they are the avian kind. Canada Jays (formerly known as Gray Jays) are pretty birds that enjoy people. They know that people come with food and the jays seem to know if they are sweet and cute, eventually, someone will give them a handout. Sky and I saw this group on one of our hikes last week.

A Few Birds

These images are from an August camping trip to the Okanogan Highlands.

Ducklings on a log
Ring-necked mama Duck
Coots are cute
Spotted Sandpiper
Always bob, bob, bobbing its tail
Can you identify these duck butts?
Does this head shot help?
That’s better.
First time I’ve seen Northern Pintails in our region during the summer.

A New Yard Bird

A quick google search shows lots of meanings for Yard Bird so I probably ought to clarify. A yard bird in this context is new bird species to add to the growing list of birds we have observed in or from our yard. Our list is pretty diverse.

Now that nesting season is over, I decided to put out a sunflower feeder so I could see what birds are out and about. What a surprise when, the very next day, a White-headed Woodpecker showed up. These birds do live around the Methow Valley but mostly in mature pine forests so he was a bit out of his normal habitat. We enjoyed watching him for a few minutes. He gathered the sunflower seeds and stashed them in the snag and before leaving, he checked out the finch feeder too. Judging by the shape of the red patch on his head, I think the bird is a juvenile male. A female would have no white and an adult male would have a more complete red patch. Learn more about White-headed Woodpeckers here.

The next day, a flock of Red-winged Blackbirds cleaned out the feeder and later, came back and seemed upset that I did not refill it for them.