My Bird Blog is a series of “then and now” stories that combine my experiences as a juvenile birdwatcher in Britain during the 1950s and 1960s with my knowledge of the same species in California today. Each month I publish the details of a bird …
Nightingale: Photo Credit – eBIRD Many years ago, I saw and heard my first Nightingale. It was a summer evening at the start of the 1960s as I walked the fields on the farm where I grew up, near York, England. I describe the sighting …
North American Bushtit
Five years ago, I published an article concerning the British Blue Tit; today’s blog focuses on a similar type of bird called the Bushtit, a species that is found only in North America and one of the few that has “tit” in its title; other birds in North America that use the same term are the five Titmouse species (Oak, Juniper, Tufted, Black-crested, Bridled). These are small, highly active songbirds that resemble small rodents hurrying after food. Bushtit is derived from the Old Icelandic word “tittr” or Norwegian “tita”, describing something small, and “bush” refers to the Bushtit’s preferred habitat. The Old World uses “tit” more widely to describe small songbirds, whereas similar species are called “titmice” or “chickadees” in North America.
Recently, a friend sent me a photo of a Bushtit, wondering what it was. It is a tiny, rather drab-looking bird, about three inches in length, with brown and grey on top and light grey on its breast. It has a small bill and a longish tail. These birds appear in constant motion when searching for food (spiders and insects, and occasionally berries, fruit, and seeds) and make a light ticking or lisping sound. They are highly sociable and form flocks of 10 to 40 individuals outside the nesting season. Human presence does not concern them while they are searching for food.
Bushtit Range
Within their geographic range, from Vancouver south through the Great Basin and along the Pacific coast into Mexico and Guatemala, North American Bushtits are common birds, and their population has remained unchanged during the past decades. Bird surveys suggest a global breeding population of 4.3 million, indicating a species of low conservation concern. Typically, they live in open woodland, scrub areas, streamside thickets and evergreen forests. Increasingly, they occupy suburban habitats. They are mostly permanent residents, although those that breed in the foothills and mountains may move to the lowlands for winter. Life span is up to nine years.
Bushtit Nest
Nesting arrangements are unusual and complex. Both males and females construct a hanging nest, which takes up to a month to complete. There is a hole near the top of the nest that hangs below its anchor point, and the construction of the nest uses spider webs and plant materials. Nests are usually located near tree trunks and branches, ranging from one hundred to three hundred feet in height. An unusual feature of Bushtit behavior is that other adults will help in nest building and carry food to the nesting pair. The entire group of birds will sleep together in the hanging nest, moving to sleeping on branches after the young have fledged. The female lays four to ten eggs, and there may be two broods annually.
Long-tailed Tit
While North American bushtits do not appear in Eurasia, there are 12 related species in the Aegithalidae bird family. All are small titmice-like birds with medium to long tails. The most widespread (from Britain to Japan) and the most common is the Long-tailed Tit. Their diets are similar; they sometimes demonstrate cooperative breeding with helpers assisting in raising the young. Their nests are intricately woven from cobwebs and lichen and often lined with feathers. They exist in small flocks outside the breeding season.
The species that I became familiar with growing up in Yorkshire, England, was the Long-tailed Tit. My childhood log of birds has me recording Long-tailed Tits at the beginning of the 1960s, along with Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Marsh Tit and Willow Tit. Today, the Long-tailed Tit is present across most of the British Isles except for north Scotland and the Scottish Islands. It is mainly a permanent resident, although a few may migrate for the winter. Growing up, the species was unmistakable to me with their blackish, whiteish and pinkish plumage and long graduated tails. There were times when I found an ovoid-shaped nest hidden among brambles and hawthorn hedges at the side of fields. I received reports that it breeds around York and that birdwatchers had seen flocks during winter.
Long-tailed Tit building its nest
Today, the Long-tailed Tit is on the Green List of conservation in the UK and has shown a slight increase in numbers during recent years. There are around 380,000 breeding pairs in the UK, although this number may fluctuate depending on the severity of each winter. Long-tailed Tits are a species easily attracted to bird feeders that offer peanuts and suet.
In summary, here are two small birds, one drab and dreary, and the other cute and richly colored, but both demonstrating similar behaviors. While they are very different birds, they somehow share a link “across the pond” due to their long tails.
Neither is considered to sing: the Long-tailed Tit is said to twitter,
and the Bushtit emits a series of chipping calls
Corn Crake Photo Image – The Guardian Newspaper I don’t remember where I saw my first Corn Crake, but I recorded its sighting in my early 1960s bird log. It was likely seen or heard in a hayfield somewhere in Yorkshire, England. Its absence …
Nuthatch takes a drink Photo Credit – Author Recently, I have enjoyed Nuthatches visiting my bird feeder and bird bath. Sometimes they are Pygmy Nuthatches; occasionally, they are the Red-breasted type, but so far, none have been White-breasted Nuthatches. These three varieties are native …
North American Bittern, Petaluma, CA May 2025
The first North American Bittern I ever saw was a few weeks ago at Shollenberger Park in Petaluma. This solitary bird was stealthily hunting its prey. It stood motionless alongside the tall grasses at the edge of the wetland, waiting for its quarry to appear. My excitement grew as I realized it was a new species, and it showed no signs of leaving. It’s not every day you spot a variety of birds for the first time. It was not “booming” as male North American Bitterns do during their breeding season from March to May, especially at dawn and dusk. They use their windpipe muscle cords and transform their gullet into an echo chamber to produce a call like a foghorn. It’s a unique bird call.
Bitterns are waders belonging to the heron family. They primarily forage for fish but also consume frogs, aquatic insects, salamanders, water snakes, crayfish, and small rodents. Their name originates from the French word “butor”, meaning bittern, and its Latin name, Botaurus, adds the word “taurus” because ornithologists at the time considered the bird’s call to sound like a bellowing bull.
Eurasian or Great Bittern
There are three other species of large bitterns: the Great or Eurasian Bittern, found in Eurasia and Africa; the Pinnated or South American Bittern, found in Central and South America; and the Australasian Bittern, found in parts of Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. The Eurasian Bittern differs from the North American one by being slightly larger and having brown plumage that is vertically barred rather than speckled. The Australasian variety exhibits a more strongly patterned plumage, and cryptic patterning is characteristic of the Pinnated Bittern.
All large bitterns have brown plumage, with buff and black markings and some white. They camouflage themselves into their environment and are typically heard rather than seen. When a predator approaches, the bird freezes and stretches its neck and bill upwards to disguise its presence among the tall vegetation. Nests are built by the female, typically floating in shallow water or on the ground, and she incubates the eggs and tends to the young. The male defends the territory using his “booming” calls and may mate with two or three females. Bitterns have a lifespan estimated by some to be about four years.
Eurasian/Great Bittern Range
North American Bittern Range
The breeding range of the Eurasian Bittern extends across Europe, Asia, and the northern coast of Africa, with occasional sightings south of the Sahara. A subspecies is endemic to southern Africa. The North American Bittern breeds in south-east Alaska and Washington, across Canada, and south through the United States as far as California in the west and Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia in the east. The South American Bittern’s territory ranges from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. Like their North American cousins, all large bitterns “boom” during the breeding season.
Above are “booming” bitterns, courtesy of the UK Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
Some North American and Eurasian Bitterns are long-distance migrants, although those breeding in warm climates, such as California, may be permanent residents. In North America, migrants spend their winters in the southern United States and along the Gulf Coast. In Eurasia, most birds migrate to Africa, the Middle East, India and South China. They typically travel at night singly or in small flocks. By contrast, Australasian Bitterns are usually sedentary, and there is little evidence of migratory movement among South American Bitterns.
Estimating populations for bitterns is challenging due to the nature of their habitat and secretive behavior. Reports suggest their numbers are declining due to the loss and degradation of wetlands. Organizations usually calculate their numbers by counting “booming” males, due to the birds’ secretive habits. The “boom” may be heard up to three miles away. Evidence suggests that climate change, such as increased evaporation demand due to higher temperatures, is also affecting the number of North American Bitterns. Even so, their numbers are large enough to keep them off the “threatened” list.
Eurasian Bittern presence in the UK during 2023
The conservation situation involving the Eurasian Bittern in the UK is different. After becoming extinct in the late 1800s, these birds began to return in the 1950s, taking advantage of the flooding in the Norfolk Broads during World War II, which was caused by the need to defend against a potential German invasion. Its numbers again declined in the late 1900s. Unfortunately, I never saw one in my native Yorkshire during my bird-watching years of the 1950s and 1960s.
The 2024 annual “booming” count of males in the UK places the total number of males at 283, with a broadening distribution across England and Wales. Hopefully, numbers will continue to rise. The British Trust for Ornithology places the species on the Amber List of UK Birds of Conservation Concern.
So far, I have presented information on the larger-sized bitterns. However, there are several species of smaller bitterns. These birds go by various names, typically inhabit freshwater habitats, blend in with their surroundings, climb rather than walk among the reeds, and freeze in place at the hint of danger. They do not “boom”. Their calls range from a clicking sound to a low-frequency barking or croaking noise.
Least Bittern
In North America, the representative is the tiny Least Bittern. They are only slightly larger than a Red-winged Blackbird, and they have a buff underpart, a white throat, and yellow-brown on the sides of the neck. They breed in low-lying areas from southeastern Canada through the eastern and central United States to Mexico and Costa Rica. There are also a few residents on the West Coast. In California, the species breeds in the marshes of the Central Valley and southern areas of the State. Birds move south in winter to the coastal slopes of southern California and the Salton Sea, but I have yet to see one.
In Eurasia and Africa, birdwatchers name the small bittern as the Little Bittern, but the species is a scarce spring migrant to the UK. There have been a handful of breeding attempts, for example, in Somerset and South Yorkshire, but the bird remains a rare vagrant. In South America, the Stripe-backed Bittern represents the small bitterns. In Australia, they are known as Australian Little Bitterns, whereas in sub-Saharan Africa, they are referred to as Dwarf Bitterns. New Zealand used to have a population of New Zealand Little Bitterns (known as Kaorik in Māori), but the last recorded sighting was in the 1890s. Other small bitterns are present in Asia, such as the Yellow, Cinnamon, and Von Schrenck’s Bitterns.
Least Bittern Range
In summary, bitterns are aquatic birds, but birdwatchers rarely encounter them due to their lifestyle. Preserving their breeding environment and food sources is crucial for their future. “Draining the swamp” threatens their survival, and “climate change” affects where and when they breed.
We will learn from New Zealand’s experience. Not only is the New Zealand small bittern extinct, but its Australasian Bittern population has declined to between 250 and 1000 individuals. Wetland drainage, habitat clearance, and predation were the causes. Additionally, during the 1900s, bittern feathers in New Zealand were used to make trout lures because they resembled whitebait when trailed through water. Matuku-hurepo, as bitterns were known to the Māori, also served as a food source and featured in ritual celebrations. The country has taken steps to reverse this trend.
“The Genius of the Bog” is the description given by the American writer Henry David Thoreau during the 19th century to the North American Bittern. Hopefully, these bitterns will continue to justify their nickname.
The Australasian Bittern in New Zealand
Eurasian Magpie Photo Credit – iNaturalist There are three well-known species of black-and-white Magpie: the Eurasian Magpie found across Europe and Asia, the Black-billed Magpie of western North America, and the Yellow-billed Magpie, which substitutes for the Black-billed Magpie in California’s Central Valley. …
Feathers in Fashion, Easter Parade 1911 New York City Photo Credit – Library of Congress At the turn of the nineteenth century, in North America and Britain, birds were hunted for sport and food, and their feathers used for fashion. Ornithologists killed birds …
Half Moon Bay, CA
Parasitic Jaeger
I’m sure they were Skuas, but I could not identify the species. They were close to the shore in Half Moon Bay, northern California. My Bird Book identified them as Jaegers, a word expressed as “yay-ger” from the German word for “hunter.” They are known in Europe as Skuas, a Faroese word meaning dark or shady.
They were about the size of a Mallard, dark brown, with bulky bodies and a robust flight, and probably were Parasitic Jaegers. In Europe, they are called Arctic Skuas. The name “parasitic” comes from the behavior of all Skuas, which is to attack other seabirds to have them give up their food. They might have been “poms,” Pomarine Jaegers, a first name taken from the waxy structure covering their bill’s base. I also saw these in Europe, where they are known as Pomarine Skuas. Skuas are kleptomaniac birds, ones who steal compulsively.
Arctic Skua
Parasitic Jaegers’ North America Range
Orange: breeding; Yellow: Migration; Blue: Winter
Arctic (Parasitic) Skua UK Distribution
Yellow: Breeding; Pink: Passage
As a teenager at Spurn Point, England, I spotted Arctic Skuas migrating off the coastline. They are distinguished by their strong wing beats and pointed wings, and I watched them chasing Sandwich Terns to rob them of their food. They breed in the high Arctic Tundra in northern Eurasia and North America and migrate south for winter as far as the Southern Hemisphere.
Pomarine Jaeger (Skua)
Pomarine Jaeger (Skua) Range
There were also sightings of Pomarine Skuas at Spurn Point. Sometimes referred to as the Pomeranian Skua, they have no connection with the Pomeranian area of the Baltic Sea. They are broad-winged and bulkier than the Arctic Skua, and they have darker plumage and a more methodical, direct flight pattern. The species nests in the Arctic Tundra in the far north of Eurasia and North America and migrates to the Southern Hemisphere for winter. The birds rely heavily on lemmings for their food during their breeding season.
Long-tailed Skua/Jaeger
Long-tailed Skua/Jaeger Range
Long-tailed Jaegers are a third species of Jaeger that migrates along the California coast. In Europe, the Long-tailed Skua can be seen along Britain’s east coast and occasionally flies across the country during migration. It prefers to stay some distance out to sea. It is the smallest of the Skuas/Jaegers family, with thin, pointed wings and a graceful flight. It displays delicate, long tail streamers. Above, it is grayish and dusty below, with a pale breast and a dark cap on its head. In Eurasia, it breeds in the high Arctic and winters off the West African coast as far south as South Africa. In North America, they breed in the Arctic. They spend the remainder of the year at sea, reaching as far south as the Brazilian and Argentinian coasts and along the west coast of South America using the Pacific Ocean.
Great Skua
Great Skua Range
The only species that carries the name “Skua” in North America is the Great Skua, a large and aggressive bird that inhabits the North Atlantic area. I watched these birds migrate along Spurn Point, where some colleagues called them “Bonxies,” a Nordic word for corpulent. They breed in Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and the Scottish islands north of Great Britain and winter at sea.
They regularly appear along the northeast coast of North America, where they travel as far south as Brazil and South Africa. Adult birds are large, powerful, thick-necked, bulky, wide-winged, streaked greyish brown, with white wing flashes and a black cap. Their tail feathers are short and blunt. Their diet consists of fish, carrion, rodents up to the size of rabbits, and smaller seabirds. Their population is about 35,000 individual birds.
South Polar Skua
Three Southern Hemisphere species carry the name Skuas, not Jaegers, and one winters as far north as the California coast. It is called the South Polar Skua. It breeds in the Antarctic from November to January and moves north to winter at sea in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. It does not reach as far north as the UK, although there is speculation that an occasional vagrant may have been mistakenly identified as a Great Skua.
South Polar Skua Range
Their arrival along the California coast begins in southern California during late spring and reaches northern California by early fall. It is rare to see them from the shore since the preferred habitat is the open ocean, where concentrations of other birds are available to offer the opportunity for them to steal their food. Pelagic boat trips provide the best chance to spot this species. It is a large, brown Skua with white wing flashes.
Brown Skua
Brown Skua Range (blue = Rare vagrant)
Two other Skua species appear only in the Southern Hemisphere. The most widely spread is the Brown Skua, which ranges across the Antarctic and subantarctic and is seen off the coastlines of South Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and South America. It is the largest and heaviest of all Skuas and is normally seen offshore, where birds may follow boats. Their plumage is dark brown, with broad white patches on the upper and underwings in flight.
Chilean Skua
Chilean Skua Range
Orange = Breeding
Finally, the Chilean Skua’s territory is limited to South America. It inhabits coastal regions from central Peru southwards, through the Strait of Magellan, to northern Argentina, and some birds may reach Brazil during winter. It is also known as the Cinnamon Skua because of its conspicuous cinnamon-colored neck ring. The species displays a dark brown cap, gold upper breast, and cinnamon-colored underwing covers.
Calculating skua populations is challenging because of their remoteness from humans, but numbers appear stable. Reductions in food supply are the most significant risks. When lemmings are in short supply, the Long-tailed Jaeger will miss a breeding season. In the UK, the number of breeding Arctic Skuas has fallen 70 percent since 2000, possibly due to the decline of other seabirds that provide them with food. The lifespan of Skuas varies by species but typically falls between 10 to 25 years, with some birds living over 30 years.
South Polar Skua and Penguin Attack
These are fabulous birds to watch as they chase other birds and display superior flight skills. Try to use location, size and plumage color to determine which species you are looking at. Remember, the most likely place to see them is a few miles offshore.
European Ring Ouzel, male Photo Credit – Birdfact European Ring Ouzel, female Photo Credit – Flickr The Ring Ouzel, a member of the Thrush family, is only seen if visiting or living in Europe. There is no reference to the appearance …
American Pipit Photo Credit – American Bird Conservancy There are about 40 pipit-named species worldwide, with the word “pipit” derived from the Meadow Pipit’s call “pi-pit.” Pipits are small, slender, drab-looking, streaky-brown birds with forenames often identifying their habitat, location, or coloring—such as …
Woodpecker that does not drill holes, Northern Flicker males (red-shafted /yellow-shafted)
The Northern Flicker (a species in the Woodpecker family) is on my golf course for the winter. Several birds recently flew low alongside the eighth tee, exhibiting their characteristic undulating flight broken by regular glides and their loud, rasping cries. Some quiet ones dug dirt near the sixth hole to catch ants. Their smaller relative, the Red-breasted Sapsucker, is leaving its signature by drilling rows of small holes less than half an inch apart as horizontal lines on selected tree trunks across the course. It uses these holes as wells to feed on the accumulated sap. Since neither species exists in Europe, I have included their European Wryneck cousin to represent the Old World.
European Green Woodpecker
All three species belong to the Woodpecker family. The Northern Flicker is a winter visitor and a resident, and in California, the species is represented by the “Red-shafted” variety. The “Yellow-shafted” subspecies is distributed east of the Rockies, although the two interbreed. Hybrid birds often have a mix of plumage characteristics from both sides. Fifty percent of their diet is ants, with the remainder of beetles, moths, grub larvae, and fruits and nuts in winter. They have extra-long tongues, up to two inches beyond the tip of their bills, coated with sticky saliva.
While Flickers are absent in Europe, their eating habits are like those of the European Green Woodpecker, and juveniles of this species can look very similar to Flickers.
Northern Flickers are beautiful birds of medium size, with black barring on a light grey back, a spotted belly and chest, a white rump, and red feathers on the tail, underwings and some wing feathers. For the “Yellow-shafted” variety, the under feathers are yellow, not red. Males of both subspecies have a moustache of either red or black feathers.
Like most woodpeckers, Northern Flickers generally nest in holes in trees, although sometimes they occupy earthen burrows left by other birds. They will also drum on trees to defend their territory and communicate with each other. The maximum life span is a little short of 10 years, and their preferred habitat is woodland, the edge of forests, city parks, and areas with scattered trees. The estimated global breeding population is around 10 million birds. Numbers have declined because of human activity, but the species remains off the endangered list.
But now let me present the Red-breasted Sapsucker, the most common Sapsucker in California. There are also the Red-naped Sapsucker (Rocky Mountains and Great Basin), Williamson’s Sapsucker (northern Mexico to British Columbia, including eastern California), and the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Canada and northeastern United States). Until 1985 the Red-breasted, Red-naped, and Yellow-billed Sapsuckers were considered the same species.
Woodpecker with a sweet tooth, the Red-breasted Sapsucker
Red-breasted Sapsucker Range
Red: summer; Purple: resident; Blue: winter.
The Red-breasted Sapsucker, about the size of an American Robin, is primarily a winter visitor to my part of northern California. I am more likely to see its presence by spotting its tidy lines of pecked holes in the trunks of trees than seeing the bird. The plumage is similar in color to other woodpeckers but with a more extensive covering of bright crimson on the head and upper breast. Unfortunately, they attack living trees and can kill them by girding their trunks with closely spaced holes. They nest in holes in the trees excavated by the males. The lifespan is around five years, and estimates suggest a global population of around 2.8 million. The species is of low conservation concern, and, in the past, they were shot as orchard pests; now, they are protected.
Woodpecker that mimics a snake, Eurasian Wryneck
Eurasian Wryneck Range
Orange: summer; Blue: winter; Purple: resident
I never recorded an Old World Eurasian Wryneck while growing up in England. They were widespread and nested in central and southern England, but I stayed in Yorkshire then. Their last confirmed breeding was in 2002; the species is now a rare passage bird in spring and August/September, appearing along the British east and southern coasts. They are small birds, sparrow-sized, and because of their greyish plumage mottled in pale brown, they are inconspicuous. They have a broad black stripe down the middle of their crown and back. Shape-wise, the birds are slim and elongated with a long tail. Like Flickers and the Green Woodpecker, they prefer a diet of ants, moths, and insects gathered in the soil and on decaying wood. Their bills are small and weak; they have long, sticky tongues and do not hammer or excavate, so for nesting, the birds use woodpecker holes or occupy wall crevices.
The species name comes from their ability to twist their necks nearly 180 degrees. “Wry” originates from the Old English verb meaning “to contort, twist, or turn.” They do this and sometimes hiss snake-like to frighten off predators (hence their nickname, snake bird). Preferred habitat during summer is open country with scattered trees, orchards, parklands, gardens and fields. As shown on the Range Map, they are long-distance migrants, breeding in Europe and Central Asia, and with the European birds wintering in central Africa. Despite rarity in Britain, their global population is estimated to be three to seven million birds, with 50 percent breeding in Europe.
Population numbers are believed to be declining because of climate change, such as increased rainfall during the breeding season, loss of nesting habitat, and the use of pesticides. However, none of the three species I presented are seriously threatened.
A Wryneck
Sabine’s Gull Photo Credit – eBird On a recent pelagic birding cruise out of Ventura, CA., I spotted my first Sabine’s Gull, a small, delicate seagull Sir Edward Sabine first described in 1818. Unlike most seagulls, these are readily identified but rarely seen because they …
Great Blue Heron Nests Photo Credit – Louisa Cammidge The above photo arrived a few days ago with the question, “To whom do these nests belong?” The location is Puget Sound on the northwest coast of the US state of Washington. The answer is …
Lesser Goldfinch at my Tube Feeder
It has been a fascinating two years living in northern California, close to the Pacific Coast, observing the etiquette of birds that visit my bird feeders. Each specific species has a distinct bird behavior and attitude. A comprehensive list of visitors to California bird feeders is available on this website: https://avianreport.com/california-backyard-feeder-birds/
My more personal list is as follows.
Downy Woodpecker
Nutall’s Woodpecker
I have added substitutions, deletions, and additions to focus on my more familiar visitors. In my yard, there is the Downy Woodpecker, not the Nutall’s Woodpecker; the American Robin arrives for berries rather than visits my bird feeders; Starlings, Golden-crowned Sparrows, and Northern Mockingbirds are absent even though they live nearby; the Black-headed Grosbeak is a rare visitor but is not on the attached list, and flocks of Band-tailed Pigeons (also not on the attached list) are unwelcome guests. They descend in groups and eat from bird feeders until the food is exhausted and frighten away everything else. Recently, I added peanuts to my offerings, only to discover a few minutes later that a mass of Band-tailed Pigeons had arrived.
Band-tailed Pigeons
Here are some of my more frequent visitors. The Lesser Goldfinch (illustration above) is a year-round visitor, easily frightened and subordinate to larger, more aggressive birds. Its favorite food is the small, dark-colored thistle (nyjer) seed, kept in a mesh tube feeder that other birds cannot access except for the occasional Oak Titmouse. This way, it avoids competition, but its presence remains skittish.
American Goldfinch
Sometimes, Lesser Goldfinches are accompanied by the American Goldfinch, which has the distinctive black head of the breeding male. They are a little more sociable but appear to prefer regular bird feeders with various seeds.
House Finches; red male; plain female:
House Finches are my most common visitors, probably every day of the year. They gather in the bushes and chatter while waiting to compete at the tube feeders. They defer to larger, more aggressive birds like the California Scrub Jay and allow smaller birds, such as the Oak Titmouse and Chestnut-backed Chickadee, to take over their perches. They are more aggressive towards each other. Sometimes mixed among them are Cassin’s Finches and Pine Siskins.
Oak Titmouse
The Oak Titmouse is a curious bird that feeds using a grab-and-run technique. It visits platform feeders, suet cages, and hanging feeders but takes its food to eat elsewhere. If being pushed to one side, expect to hear its harsh scolding call and see its raised crest.
Its close relative, the Chestnut-backed Chickadee, displays similar bird behavior. This cautious visitor prefers suet holders over tube feeders and flits quickly between food sources. It takes a mouthful at a time and promptly leaves to eat or store it elsewhere.
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
California Scrub Jay
The species I find the most fascinating is the rather drab-looking California Towhee. It has some interesting bird behavior — appearing to have no fear of humans as it persistently pecks away at the ground for food. The California Towhee neither bullies other birds nor will it be bullied. It is a ground feeder, but occasionally, it visits platform and suet feeders. It seems to know what’s up there. I watched a California Towee repeatedly fly to a suet basket to peck at the suet balls while still in flight. It then dropped to the ground to eat what it had pecked. Over the weeks, it discovered a platform in the center of the suet feeder and eventually realized by occupying it, the bird could happily peck away at the food and consume it undisturbed.
California Towhee
Dark-eyed Junco
Finally, my most industrious visitor is the Dark-eyed Junco. I observe them year-round as they hop, search, and peck for food on the ground, often spilt by other birds. It is not easily frightened.
On a peaceful day, nothing is more satisfying than sitting outside watching birds feed. In addition to the species I have covered, there are other visitors, such as the American Crow, Mourning Dove, Nuthatches, and Spotted Towhee.
If you have or are thinking of installing a bird feeder, please consider the following:
Enjoy your backyard birdwatching. You’ll see some interesting bird behavior. It’s been a hobby of mine since the 1950s when, on my family’s farm home in England, I would see Blue Tits, Great Tits, House Sparrows, European Robins, Starlings and Chaffinches. Today, in the same area, you can include European Goldfinches, Long-tailed Tits, and Nuthatches.
Black Phoebe Photo Credit – Cornell Lab of Ornithology Phoebes are smallish (6 inches/16 cm), insect-eating, perching songbirds native to the Americas. Black Phoebe – United States, Mexico, Central America, parts of South America Eastern Phoebe – Eastern North America Say’s Phoebe – …
