The Birders Report

Hutton’s Vireo photos by Larry Jordan

If you live in the Western United States and you saw this bird, you may not be able to identify it from this view.  You might not even be able to positively ID the bird below from this view.

But if you look real closely at the second photo, you can just make out a white wing bar with a black “highlight bar” behind it.  That black band bordering the second and widest wingbar differentiates the Ruby-crowned Kinglet from the Hutton’s Vireo pictured above and below.

Hutton’s Vireo photo by Walter Ammann

Note that the Hutton’s Vireo has a broken eye ring just like the Ruby-crowned Kinglet but lacks the black “highlight bar” behind the second white wing bar.  The Hutton’s Vireo also has a more stout bill than the kinglet, with a hook on the upper mandible.

One of the giveaways of the Ruby-crowned Kinglet, when you watch their behavior, is that they constantly flick their wings and they never remain still.  They are in constant motion which makes them easier to spot than other birds.

If you are lucky enough to see the male Ruby-crowned Kinglet, there is another feature that gives away their identity…

the male has a bright scarlet crown patch that may be concealed but stands erect when he is excited.  I was excited to finally get some good photos of one of my favorite birds that visit my oak trees every winter.  As a matter of fact, it was such an incredibly beautiful morning this morning, knowing where they hang out, I set out specifically to try and photograph them.

These little gems are a delight to watch as they glean spiders and insects from the tree bark, sometimes hovering to grab something under a limb or actually hawking insects in mid air.

They nest high up in conifers during their summer breeding season but they always come back to my oaks in winter to feed.  You can hear the song of the Ruby-crowned Kinglet here and I know you will want to see some other great bird photos by visiting Birdfreak’s Bird Photography Weekly.

Vote for Audubon California’s 2009 Bird of the Year!  See what else Audubon is doing for our birds and what you can do to help by clicking on the logo above.

The 2009-2010 Project FeederWatch runs from November 14th to April 9th

FeederWatch data help scientists track broadscale movements of winter bird populations and long-term trends in bird distribution and abundance.  Click on the logo above to find out more.

The Great Backyard Bird Count, February 12th through February 15th

The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent and in Hawaii. Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers to experts.  Click on the logo above to find out all about it.

The 110th Christmas Bird Count from December 14th to January 5th

From December 14 through January 5 tens of thousands of volunteers throughout the Americas take part in an adventure that has become a family tradition among generations. Families and students, birders and scientists, armed with binoculars, bird guides and checklists go out on an annual mission to count birds.

I love the fall and winter.  There are so many birding activities to engage in.  We hold three counts in my area of Northern California so don’t forget the Christmas Bird Counts in your area!  Contact your local Audubon Society to find out more.  You can find your local chapter by clicking here.

White-throated Sparrow photos by Larry Jordan

A few weeks ago, my friend Debby texted me that she had a White-throated Sparrow at her feeders.  This may not sound like much if you live East of the Rocky Mountains but White-throated Sparrows are not common in the central valley of California as you can see on this map courtesy of Cornell Lab.  Cornell Lab actually has a note below the map stating “Species is present only at very low densities in the western wintering range shown.”

So, of course I headed over to her house to see my first White-throated Sparrow, and what a beautiful specimen it was.  Debby had layed out plenty of food around her yard, making sure the sparrow would stick around for anyone wanting a look at the rare migrant.

This bird was travelling with a flock of White-crowned Sparrows it seemed.  There were several white-crowns, adults and juveniles feeding in the yard right outside her livingroom window!  How convenient for watching this beautiful newcomer.

There are two morphs of this species, a tan-striped and a white-striped morph.  The white-striped morph we were able to see here has a brighter yellow eyebrow stripe than the tan-striped morph.

The White-throated Sparrow differs from the White-crowned Sparrow by having a white throat and a bi-colored bill rather than a pinkish bill

White-crowned Sparrow

And the immature Golden-crowned Sparrow has yellow in its crown to set it apart, whereas this adult has the yellow central crown stripe bordered with bold black eye stripes.

Golden-crowned Sparrow

The afternoon spent watching birds through Debby’s livingroom window also included several other species attracted to her feeding station.  There were the ever present Western Scrub-Jays

and Mourning Doves

as well as White-breasted Nuthatches competing for her suet (she uses the same recipe as I do)

with a pair of Downy Woodpeckers

Downy Woodpecker Female

Downy Woodpecker Male

and a pair of Nuttall’s Woodpeckers

Nuttall’s Woodpecker Male

Nuttall’s Woodpecker Female

Now that’s what I call an enjoyable afternoon birdwatching, all from the comfort of a friend’s livingroom window!  Thanks Debby!

Make sure you stop by to see the other great Bird Photography Weekly photos!