Here on Eureka's temperate shores we're in denial -- we know what is coming. For weeks, the maples have slowly been turning gold and red. The sun rises a few minutes later and sets a few minutes earlier each day. Yarrow and lupine give way to asters. They hint, they highlight the cusp of the coming season. But the warblers: that's the sign. Their summer homes in nearby mountains have chilled and they wisely return to the lowlands to weather out the winter.
Sept. 19
Backyard, feeders
8:30-9:00 a.m. Clear, sunny
Chestnut-backed chickadee 12
House sparrow 15
American goldfinch 3
Yellow warbler 1
Townsend warbler 2
Yellow-rumped warbler 2
Sept. 20
Eureka Marsh
8:00-10:30 a.m. clear, sunny
No counts
Black capped chickadee
Ruby-crowned kinglet
Lesser goldfinch
American goldfinch
Great blue heron
Great egret
Fox sparrow
Song sparrow
Lincoln sparrow
White-crowned sparrow
Common raven
Northern flicker
Cedar waxwing
Black-shouldered kite
N. Shoveler
Marbled godwit
Willet
Black-bellied plover
Semipalmated plover
Long-billed curlew
Double-crested cormorant
Brown pelican
American crow
Plus an unidentified hummingbird, several gulls and a flock of warblers moving too fast for us to ID (possibly yellow warblers, but never got a good enough look)
Sept. 29
7:45-8:00 a.m. partly cloudy
Backyard, feeders, fly-bys
Goldfinches (mostly American but at least one Lesser GF) 11
Cedar waxwings 17
Black phoebe 1
Amer. crow 2
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Baby Huey Birds
Black headed grosbeaks have discovered the buffet in our backyard -- I saw my first on on Saturday morning, and three this evening. Grosbeaks are the Baby Hueys of the finchy bird world compared to our usual house finches, house sparrows, goldfinches and pine siskins -- they're huge! And really cute. I hope they stick around.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
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