Trust

Day 267: And then there's this. The feeling I get when a wild bird places its trust in me is indescribable. I know I am privileged to have experienced it even once, but it repeats, and not with just one species. Chickadees can be coerced into taking food from a hand. Canada Jays ("Grey Jays") will land on your head if you're having a snack on the trail. There are some wild species who are more accepting of humans than others, but if you asked any birder or ornithologist, Evening Grosbeaks would not be on their list. Pine Siskins might be, but Purple Finches would not, and there's one female who watches very carefully from nearby when my little Grosbeak friend is having lunch: "If he can do it, maybe I could, too!" I can tell she's giving the idea serious consideration. As for the Grosbeak, he is completely comfortable. He didn't even mind that I had forgotten to turn off the flash on the little silver point-and-shoot I used to take these photos. And this is how I want my friends to remember me, if for nothing else: the woman who held birds.

A Friend of a Friend

Day 266: These are Rob's photos from a couple of days ago. Some of you may have already seen them on Facebook, but since I had not yet blogged them, and since there are updates, they are my choice for today's post.

Y'see, a couple of decades ago, I rehabbed an Evening Grosbeak with a broken wing. He was in my care for a month before I returned him to the wild. I dubbed him Friend (some of you may know where to find "Friend's Story" as an adjunct to 365Caws). After his release, he returned to visit me throughout the season and, I firmly believe, the following two or three years. Since then, I have always wondered if he somehow related the circumstances of our relationship to his offspring, because almost every year, there is at least one Grosbeak who shows no fear of me. That said, the closest I had ever gotten to any of them was when Follower tagged along behind me as I went out to the garage, and I had to shoo him gently out.

That's the backstory. This little feller had already eaten out of my hand while sitting on the bird feeder, but I wasn't expecting him to get ON the hand, and especially not in front of company. It's enormously difficult to document these events, and people tend not to believe you unless they have witnessed it. But there you have it: bird in the hand, worth way more than two in the bush! Today brought another surprise. When I went out to fill the feeders, my little pal hopped onto my forearm, walked down it, took a seed from my palm and then settled in on the edge of the feeder while eating from the handful I was holding. I think I've made a friend for life...a friend, perhaps, of Friend.

Global Big Day

Day 204: You can celebrate Star Wars Day if that's your thing, or I might have been inclined to join you in observing World Naked Gardening Day if the weather hadn't turned both wet and cold, but what we're really excited about around here is that Global Big Day is only a week away! Yes, May 11th is circled on my calendar, and I have my checklist printed out. No, I won't be travelling to the far reaches. I'll just be standing at my window ticking off species at the feeders. I don't expect this year to break the record of 29 due to the fact that few of the migrants have arrived yet, but if I'm lucky, I might see twenty. When it comes right down to it, that's pretty respectable for a backyard bird-a-thon.

Parrot Time

Day 198: It's full-on Porch Parrot Time, and the trees are alive with the sound of chirping. Yes, the Evening Grosbeaks (Hesperiphona vespertinus) are back en masse. The males (left) have been around for a month or so, only joined by the females (right) in the last few days. I have only seen one or two Black-headed females in the mix, but no males as yet. It makes me curious about the division of household duties, why the males of one species would serve as scouts, but the females of another perform the same task. In any event, it's an exciting time. Pretty soon, there will be little baby Porch Parrots at the feeders, for me, one of the happiest times of the year.

Snowbirds

Day 90: The epithet "snowbirds" has always intrigued me. It is used quite differently in different environments. To some, it means the people who fly south to warmer climates as soon as the first flake falls. To others, it means the influx of skiers to the slopes. Since both make equally good sense when applied to humans, I have resolved the quandary with an even more logical definition to eliminate any confusion when I use it in conversation. These are my snowbirds (some of them, anyway), the faithful winter companions who appear regularly at my feeders and knock on my window when the seed supply runs low. Spotted Towhees, Dark-eyed Juncos, soon-to-be-renamed Steller's Jays and Evening Grosbeaks ("Porch Parrots" in my vernacular) are among the most reliable visitors to my yard when snow lies on the ground. Let's hear it for the snowbirds who neither slalom nor suntan!

Christmas Party

Day 61: It's party time! The winter Porch Parrots showed up a few days ago and made short work of the seeds I'd laid out for breakfast. You might think that they'd have flown south by now, but once they'd pinned a seemingly endless source of black-oil sunflower seed on their mental maps, they've been here every winter. The census appears to have grown somewhat, increasing until there is now no longer space for everyone on the trays. Inevitably, there will be some pushing and shoving, the occasional beak battle and a lot of bad language, apparently the social standard for Parrot parties. In the end, though, everyone gets a fair share of the goodies, and no one goes home feeling like they were left out of the door prize drawing.

Evening Grosbeak Female

Day 214: Few things in life are certain: death, taxes and Murphy's Law. The latter was in full effect on Saturday when I should have been able to rack up several more species for Global Big Day but for the sudden disappearance of a few of my more common birds. And true to form, over the following two days, several of them showed up: the Red-winged Blackbirds (normally a constant nuisance), Canada Geese and a Red-breasted Sapsucker. On the other hand, only the atomic clock is more reliable than Evening Grosbeaks who have discovered an unlimited supply of black-oil sunflower seed, and they were arguably my most abundant bird in the count, even topping Steller's Jays. I never get tired of photographing them, and this was my best capture of a female. They'll be around all summer, sometimes in smaller numbers, sometimes greater, filling the air with their chirps.

Parrot Season

Day 202: They're here, and they think they're starving! Yes, both species of "parrots" have returned to my feeders in droves. The amount of seed these birds can put away never ceases to amaze me. Sitting in the chair closest to the closed double-pane window, my ears are assailed by the sound of seeds being cracked continuously. It's not unlike the crackle of a fire on a chilly winter day, and equally warming to my spirit. Black-headed Grosbeaks (Pheucticus melanocephalus, left) sing a melodious carol; Evening Grosbeaks (Coccothraustes/Hesperiphona vespertinus/a, right) speak a strong "CHURP!" to voice appreciation for the ready supply of black-oil sunflower seed I provide. Of all the birds in my yard, hand-sitters aside, none gives me as great pleasure as my horde of "parrots."

Grosbeaks In The Snow

Day 162: Given the amount of activity at the feeders yesterday, I should have put more faith in the weather forecast, but they've been wrong more times than they've been right lately, often missing my nighttime low temps by as much as 10 degrees, so I simply didn't believe them when they said snow was a possibiility. It was coming down hard when I got up at 4:45, although only about half an inch had accumulated. By 6:30 when the first birds came to feed, it had piled up two inches deep. In conditions like these, it's interesting to observe the different foraging methods of the various species. The Towhees, the Quail and two Northern Flickers set to excavating, quickly clearing the ground down to the grass. The Juncos chose to forgo small seed, preferring a high-fat breakfast of suet, but the Grosbeaks focused on their favourite black-oil sunflower seed. The Mourning Doves sat moping on the fence, waiting for someone else to do the hard work, and then moved in to clean up the others' scraps. Very little goes to waste around here!

Prodigal Parrots

Day 157: Phenology is all about good record-keeping. Even though this isn't the best picture I've ever taken, it serves to document the return of the prodigal parrots (all sons per my single observation) after an absence of roughly six weeks. They've extended their term here over the years, recognizing a Good Thing when they see one, i.e., a seemingly unlimited supply of the black-oil sunflower seed which is their favourite fare. They were only here for a few minutes to check out the feeders, moving on when the neighbour made a crash-bang in his yard. Their beaks are just beginning to turn chartreuse green, a biologic change which comes with mating season. As for their scientific name, that too is in a state of flux. The International Ornithologists' Union currently prefers Hesperiphona, however, the American Ornithological Society still places them in Coccothraustes. That said, both groups agree that they are more closely related to the Hooded Grosbeak and hawfinches than to Black-headed and Rose-breasted and the cardinals. In any event, they'll aways be "Porch Parrots" to me.

It's Behind Me, Isn't It?

Day 215: Don't turn around! Don't look! It's behind you! As he felt as the feeder rise like a teeter-totter when a significant weight landed on the far end, this Goldfinch must have thought the monster was catching up to him fast. I've often described Evening Grosbeaks as resembling a much larger version of a Goldfinch, but having the two birds side by side in proximity really points up the size difference. When you can only observe one bird, it is difficult to say, "That one's about the size of a sparrow" or "Big as a Steller's Jay, that one!" In trying to determine whether you're seeing a Raven as opposed to a Crow without the two side by side, an estimate of size is a poor tool because objects at a distance are almost impossible to judge. You need to learn the other identifying features. In the case of Goldfinch vs. Grosbeak, that's fairly easy. The Goldfinch is brighter yellow with very little darker shading on the neck and back. During mating season, Grosbeaks' heavier bills turn chartreuse, and a Goldfinch's dainty beak is pinkish.

Porch Parrot Paradise

Day 198: The yard is once again full of Porch Parrots. A few over-wintered, as is their custom, and now they have been joined by the larger flock. They'll soon be followed by an influx of Black-headed Grosbeaks, one of which was scouting the feeders yesterday. The Evening Grosbeak is not a true Grosbeak, its genome more closely allied to the Finches. You will find it listed as Coccothraustes vespertinus in most current field guides. However, the International Ornithologists' Union now puts the bird in Hesperiphona alongside the Hooded Grosbeak (a Mexican/Central American species), in a taxonomic shift which is in line to achieve universal acceptance. On the other hand, Black-headed Grosbeaks belong to Pheucticus (true Grosbeaks), as do their cousins Rose-breasted and Yellow, neither of which occur in western Washington. Nor does Blue Grosbeak (another true Grosbeak, Passerina caerulea) visit our area. As much as it delights me that we are learning more about many species through genetic analysis, it sure does make it hard to keep up!