Big Day Collage

Day 214: First, a disclaimer. These images represent some (but not all) of the 25 species observed from my yard on Global Big Day. All but one of the photos (Anna's Hummer, female) was taken over the two-day period of May 13-14, but each represents a species/sex observed on my Big Day. I knew I'd be busy birding, but even so, I processed over 400 pictures yesterday. The quality is poor in some of these (notably the Raven, taken at 95x zoom and the Violet-green Swallow, taken at 75x zoom), and I would have liked a better representation of the male Red-winged Blackbird, but the males know to fly off when they see me. I'll be posting larger versions of some of the better photos over the next week or so.

There were some notable absences on Big Day. The Varied Thrush declined to put in an appearance, as did the Golden-crowned Sparrow. Song Sparrow didn't show, nor did Northern Flicker. I haven't seen a Red-breasted Sapsucker yet this year, and didn't expect one. Species seen but not photographed include Canada Goose (heard, unmistakably, in numbers) and Black-capped Chickadee, who persisted in hiding deep within the branches of the contorted filbert to eat his seeds. The male Goldfinch presented himself last of all, capping off a pretty darn good backyard Big Day.

Identification key (left to right, top to bottom):
Row 1: Anna's Hummingbirds (male and female), Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Dark-eyed Junco, Rufous Hummingbirds (male and female)
Row 2: American Robin, Purple Finch, Evening Grosbeaks (male and female), Mourning Dove, Band-tailed Pigeon
Row 3: Northwestern Crows, Spotted Towhee, American Goldfinch (male and female), Red-breasted Nuthatch, Common Raven
Row 4: Pine Siskin, Steller's Jay, Black-headed Grosbeaks (male and female), White-crowned Sparrow, European Starling
Row 5: Brown-headed Cowbirds (male and female), Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Red-winged Blackbirds (male and female)