BACKYARD BIRD SIGHTINGS FROM OUR MEMBERS AND FRIENDS

January, our first full month of winter, rewarded All Around Town contributors with a wealth of backyard and neighborhood bird sightings.

This is an excellent time of the year to spot raptors, and many of you did - perched on trees and rocks, soaring high overhead, and dining on other birds in your yards. In January, All Around Town received reports of Golden Eagles, Northern Harriers, Cooper’s Hawks, Red-shouldered Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks, Great Horned Owls, and Merlins.

This is also an active season at backyard bird feeders - perhaps the winter makes easier access to food more appealing to birds. Many of you delighted in watching our year-round and winter residents near your homes, like Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Bewick’s Wrens, House Finches, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and a variety of woodpeckers.

This month, the Savannah Sparrow makes its debut in All Around Town. This streaked bird with a yellow swash above its eye is a common resident of our baylands, but is otherwise found mostly in and near the foothills of our county.

Finally, what would winter be like without Cedar Waxwings? As usual, these delightful fruit-eaters have captivated you, and this edition of All Around Town features a special section on the birds.

Here are the birds you observed recently:

*Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk seen by Valerie*

Valerie Hau (San Jose) shares with us: “I went on a hike when the rains cleared over Christmas weekend at Rancho San Vicente. Perhaps a bad choice because most of the hike involved squelching through the cow-churned mud. But it turned out to be the best choice because I saw so many raptors out in the morning. They must have been incredibly hungry after several days of bad weather and came out en masse to hunt! This Red-tailed Hawk took a break on a rocky boulder field a few meters away and seemed to enjoy watching us klutzy humans struggle through the mud.”

*This juvenile Cooper’s Hawk visited Sue’s yard for a meal.*

Sue Pelmulder (San Jose) wrote to us on January 10: “Here is a picture of yesterday’s backyard bird, a juvenile Cooper’s Hawk, probably female judging by the size. She had Mourning Dove for lunch and I don’t know who else, as she’s been hanging around for a few days.”

Steven Rice (Palo Alto) enjoyed photographing birds on his balcony in January. Here are some of his pictures.

*A Chestnut-backed Chickadee and an Oak Titmouse explore Steven’s feeder.*

*A Lesser Goldfinch and a bright male House Finch at Steven’s feeder*

Steven writes: “Probably my best customers right now are Chestnut-backed Chickadees. I took these pictures (above) with a vintage lens, and had to stand motionless under a camouflage drape for a long time to get them.”

Steven photographed this American Robin (above) at his neighborhood park in Palo Alto.

Airdrie Kincaid (Santa Clara) continues to observe the Merlin that has been visiting her neighborhood this winter (perhaps it’s the same bird that visited last winter too).

*Merlin with House Finch prey, photographed by Airdrie*

In mid-January, she told us: “The Merlin is still around and one day I watched it fly back to a branch with a bird before eating it. The bird looked very fierce when it ripped up and ate the finch with feathers flying.”

*The Merlin lands on a branch in Airdrie’s neighborhood. Note the patterns on the bird’s wing, contrasting with those on its breast and belly, and the bird’s beautifully-striped tail.*

Towards the end of January, Michelle Viegas (Cupertino) shared with us: “House Finches have been regular visitors for the past couple of months. Last week I was able to take a beautiful shot of this gorgeous finch. I loved the brown streaks and the red feathers on his little chest and tummy. He surely needs a belly rub!!”

*A male House Finch on Michelle’s patio. She writes: “I have been waiting a long time for the right moment to capture these lovely birds.”*

Jack Cole (San Jose) recently had a very special visitor: “I saw the first Spotted Towhee in 49 years yesterday (January 23) for five seconds in my yard. Number 81 on my yard list.”

Jennifer Oliver (San Jose) tells us:

“January was the first time that we’ve seen one of these in our neighborhood - a cute little Savannah Sparrow at the end of our road.”

*A Savannah Sparrow in Jennifer’s neighborhood. Note the yellow stripe above the bird’s eye, and the dark, well-defined streaks on its head and face.*

*Two Golden Eagles soar over Jennifer’s neighborhood.*

She adds: “This winter I’m still enjoying all the Red-tailed Hawks, Red-shouldered Hawks, Northern Harriers, and occasional Golden Eagle sightings whenever I’m walking through the neighborhood. One day I was blessed with two goldens overhead!”

Emma Shelton (Menlo Park) sent us her yard and neighborhood notes for January.

She writes: “Our most populous bird species are American Crows and gulls at the end of the street - they are rivaling the Rock Pigeons in number now. Must be some good eats there.”

“Among the smaller birds, still numerous are Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Pygmy Nuthatches, House Finches (still the most plentiful), and White-crowned Sparrows - and we're talking dozens at a time. There are still lots of Lesser Goldfinches, Oak Titmice, and Dark-eyed Juncos. Some days when I’m home at the right time there are times of day when EVERYONE is at the party, and they bring all their families and friends. It can get pretty busy and noisy in our backyard particularly.”

“Less plentiful but still regular are the Mourning Doves, White-breasted Nuthatches, California Scrub-Jays, and an Anna’s Hummingbird or two. We have some Bewick’s Wrens who are really fun to watch. They flit around from feeder to tree to fence to plants grubbing on whatever they find. Such a balanced diet!”

“I hadn’t heard a Great Horned Owl personally (I rely on our neighbors), but last week we heard one distinctly even inside the house!”

*Emma calls this picture of a Black Phoebe “Bird on a Wire.”*

“Last Friday, when a few of us neighbors were sitting in the driveway to chat, I looked up and there was our Black Phoebe again! It dove into our scraggly mayten tree to catch a snack, then flew back up to a perch.”

“I see one of our Downy Woodpeckers at the feeders in front and back almost every day. Here (picture above) he’s helping finish off the seed so I can wash the feeder.”

Deanne Tucker (Los Altos) photographed birds in her yard in January. Here are some of her pictures:

*A Bewick’s Wren strikes a jaunty pose in front of a camellia blossom.*

*A Western Bluebird visits Deanne’s bird bath.*

*A Nuttall’s Woodpecker explores a tree.*

*A Yellow-rumped Warbler perches in a tree, showing bright bursts of color.*

CEDAR WAXWINGS

Last February, we published a special All Around Town section on Cedar Waxwings, and it’s beginning to look like this might become an annual tradition!

This charismatic winter fruit-eater, with its impish masked face, ruby-red wing spots, and ethereal call, captivates bird lovers. The Cedar Waxwing was our featured backyard bird in January - learn all about it in our Backyard Bird of the Month article, and listen to its calls in this BirdNote clip.

Here are your observations of Cedar Waxwings in the past month:

*Cedar Waxwing photographed by Suresh. Note the bird’s black eye mask, red “waxy” wing spots, and bright yellow tail stripe.*

Suresh Thirumalai (Santa Clara) wrote to us at the end of January: “The Cedar Waxwings have been visiting the privets the last couple of years. This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago and they usually come in the morning to eat the berries.”

Also at the end of January, Airdrie Kincaid (Santa Clara) wrote: “The persimmons are gone but a neighbor’s ficus tree still has berries. Here is a photo (above) of a Cedar Waxwing eating the berries.”

Emma Shelton (Menlo Park) says: “In January, I saw a few Cedar Waxwings in a flowering pear tree in a neighbor’s yard. I’d seen the birds often in December on Hachiya persimmon trees. It was funny since I hadn’t noticed them around for years.”

*Jennifer took this picture of a Cedar Waxwing - notice the bird’s lemon-yellow belly and tail stripe. And can you see its tongue?*

Jennifer Oliver (San Jose) says: “This year we only saw Cedar Waxwings in our neighborhood for a couple of weeks, eating berries in some of the trees. (I think all the robins we had ate up all the berries after that.) I was lucky to grab at least a few shots and watch them one morning in early January. They are such gorgeous birds!”

We agree, waxwings are beautiful! Happy backyard birding in February, everyone.