My wife spotted a Black-headed Grosbeak at one of our bird baths today. We had just cleaned and refilled them this morning. I hear them sing in our part of McMinnville every spring but this is the latest date for a sighting, or hearing, at our house. This will be one of our hottest days of the year so far and the grosbeak clearly enjoyed a drink and a cooling splash about.
All of us birders are voyeurs to some extent. But I realize that here I am watching a female neighbor in her ablutions, and taking pictures to share with the world. In my defense, she was in my garden and fully dressed. I hope she won’t mind becoming a touching example of the joy of water on a very hot, dry day. More splashing:
I believe this is a female grosbeak and not a juvie. Her upper mandible is clearly darker than the lower. Somebody who knows these birds quite well avers that this is actually a first-year bird, perhaps a male getting a little coloring on the head. If you click on images to enlarge you will note in some a tiny orange smear above each eye. Don’t find that in Sibley’s.
Some pictures not very clear–all were taken through a window because I did not want to disturb here by approaching a door and opening it.
820 NW 19th Street, McMinnville, Yamhill, Oregon, US
Aug 27, 2019
9 species
Eurasian Collared-Dove 6
California Scrub-Jay 1
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 5
Bushtit X
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch 4
Black-headed Grosbeak 1
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