There were plenty of First Of Year species today–one stop at the pond pn Pheasant Hill Road brought several ducks and waterbirds onto the year list, plus a heron. Best FOY were Wilson’s Snipe in marsh at Joe Dancer (9), and Varied Thrush (7) in the abandoned apple orchard next to the west edge of Grenfell Park on Baker Creek Road.
But the stars today were Chestnut-backed Chickadees in our garden. I refilled the suet log in early afternoon and stood four feet away. It took the first chickasueter about five seconds to land and start scarfing.
In the last image the little guy is having to gulp down a throat-clogging bit of suet. The chickadee has a reputation for being easily tamed. Appetite overcomes caution and they will learn to land your shoulder, feed from your hand. I don’t try to tame them because I don’t really trust all my own species around a tame chickadee. House Sparrows and even egrets came be tamed with food.
Click here for story about tamed egrets and herons in Marin County. Fine as long as none of the neighbors launch an egret jihad. Our ancestors almost drove these birds extinct before 1920–murdering them for feathers to decorate women’s hats.
THURSDAY GALLERY
The two seedeaters are House Finch and Golden-crowned Sparrow.
NOT BIRDS
Pheasant Hill Rd. & pond, Yamhill, Oregon, US
Jan 3, 2020
9 species
Mallard 4
Green-winged Teal 8
Ring-necked Duck 30
Hooded Merganser 2
Common Merganser 4
Pied-billed Grebe 1
American Coot 12
Great Blue Heron 1
American Robin 1
Baker Creek Road, Yamhill, Oregon, US
Jan 3, 2020
11 species
Eurasian Collared-Dove 3
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Northern Flicker 2
American Kestrel 5
California Scrub-Jay 7
European Starling 40
Varied Thrush 9
American Robin 30
Song Sparrow 1
Spotted Towhee 1
Brewer’s Blackbird 10
Joe Dancer Park, Yamhill, Oregon, US
Jan 3, 2020
9 species
Wilson’s Snipe 9
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Northern Flicker 1
California Scrub-Jay 1
American Crow X
Lesser Goldfinch 4
Dark-eyed Junco 60
Song Sparrow 12
Spotted Towhee 3
Reblogged this on Wolf's Birding and Bonsai Blog.
By: africanbirding on January 5, 2020
at 2:02 am