Backyard Bird Sightings from our Members and Friends

Happy New Year, backyard and neighborhood birders!

We’re starting 2022 with a double feature - your December backyard bird observations, and a special section with your highlights and reflections on backyard birding in 2021.

Read on for stories of feisty kinglets, hungry hawks, and numerous nuthatches! You’ll also hear about owls under the eaves, baby birds, a bonanza of hummingbirds, and much more. Enjoy these stories and the wonderful photographs that accompany them.

Since this project started in 2020, you’ve reported 91 species of birds observed in your yards and neighborhoods. In December, thanks to your 2021 year lists, we added an astounding nine new species to All Around Town: Wild Turkey, Western Kingbird, Yellow-billed Magpie, Barn Swallow, House Wren, Lawrence’s Goldfinch, Lincoln’s Sparrow, Bullock’s Oriole, and Yellow Warbler! While many of us won’t see these birds in our own yards, it’s a reminder of the tremendous variety of habitats that are found in our region and the biodiversity that they host.

Will All Around Town reach 100 species this year? Although it’s getting harder to add new birds to the list, we’re up for the challenge. And we’re always glad to see our common backyard birds, who add delight and wonder to each and every day.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to All Around Town in 2021 - it is always a pleasure to hear from you and share the joy of birds with you. Happy backyard and neighborhood birding in 2022!

DECEMBER OBSERVATIONS

Joe Ribera (Sunnyvale) wrote on December 19: “I walk the neighborhood a couple of times a week. Today I got a tree full of Cedar Waxwings, a lot of White-crowned Sparrows, and a beautiful soaring Red-tailed Hawk.”

*Red-tailed Hawk observed by Joe in his neighborhood*

The previous day, Joe saw a Lesser Goldfinch, a California Towhee, and a Yellow-rumped Warbler in his maple tree and around the neighborhood.

*Male Ruby-crowned Kinglet in Deanne’s yard*

Deanne Tucker (Los Altos) says: “Last year, I had a very determined Ruby-crowned Kinglet fending off his reflection in my office window. He’s back again and I got a few photos” (above and below).

*Only male kinglets have the ruby crown, which they can raise like a crest.*

*When the bird is calm, the crest is lowered and the ruby crown is less visible.*

Take a look at the Ruby-crowned Kinglet that visited Deanne last winter - maybe it’s the same one!

*A Cooper’s Hawk on the Harts’ feeder, perhaps waiting for a songbird snack to arrive*

Diane Hart (Cupertino) sent us this photo of a Cooper’s Hawk that Peter Hart took in their backyard on Christmas. She says, “Our daughter spotted it late in the day as an added present for her parents.”

Towards the end of December, Eve Meier (San Jose) told us: “The Yellow-rumped Warblers are enjoying all the olives that have fallen from our olive tree.”

*A Common Raven with unusual neck feathers, observed by Linden*

Also in late December, Linden Skjeie (San Jose) observed a Common Raven with white neck feathers. “How odd is this?” she writes. This unusual plumage is probably due to leucism, a condition in which some or all of a bird’s feathers have reduced coloration.

*Emma writes: “The Black Phoebe that our neighbor usually sees finally showed up in our yard!”*

Emma Shelton (Menlo Park) sent us her backyard bird list and notes for December:

Canada Goose (flyover)
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Anna’s Hummingbird
Gull species (flyover)
Cooper’s Hawk - I hadn’t noticed them recently, but a couple days ago in the late afternoon one zipped by when I was chatting with a neighbor, right next to us. I’m going, what was THAT?! Then the next day I saw it (I think a juvenile) in a tree next to our backyard.
Red-shouldered Hawk
Downy Woodpecker - We have a couple of regulars living nearby that frequent our yard to peck at trees and check out the feeders.
Nuttall’s Woodpecker
Black Phoebe - finally visited our front tree!
California Scrub-Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Oak Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Pygmy Nuthatch - We must have hundreds in the trees around the house! Seems that way. They are awfully cute.
Bewick’s Wren
Cedar Waxwing - They showed up for the Christmas Bird Count day on the flowering pear tree behind our back fence! About twenty of them.
House Finch - These have to be the most common bird here for the past several months. Seriously must be hundreds, seems like, and all their squabbling progeny.
Lesser Goldfinch
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow - These rival the House Finches in numbers around here.
Golden-crowned Sparrow
California Towhee
Spotted Towhee - Also every day a few, checking out what’s on the ground “towhee-style.” Seen a few juveniles as well, the “black and white” versions of the adults.

*A Pygmy Nuthatch (left) and a Downy Woodpecker on Emma’s feeder*

Emma writes: “We have a very large population of Pygmy Nuthatches right now. It’s wondering here (photo above) about that woodpecker thing. Pygmy Nuthatches and White-breasted Nuthatches are really happy with our neck of the woods.”

*A Downy Woodpecker (left) and a House Finch on Emma’s feeder*

2021 YEAR IN REVIEW: HIGHLIGHTS AND REFLECTIONS

Kris Karnos (San Jose) tells us that her 2021 backyard birding highlights include getting “owling assistance” from her indoor house cat: “He was very alert looking out the window at 4 a.m. or so. I followed his gaze to spot a dark owlish shape on the radio antenna of a neighbor’s house.” She also saw a pair of Yellow Warblers (male and female) in late September.

*An Anna’s Hummingbird visits Steven’s yard.*

During the year, Steven Rice (Palo Alto) took these photographs from the balcony and front landing of his apartment.

*A Cooper’s Hawk, feathers ruffled, in Steven’s yard*

*A White-breasted Nuthatch grabs a seed in Steven’s yard.*

Jennifer Oliver (San Jose) writes: “I'd just like to share how fun my first year birding has been! (126 total species identified) It started with watching the birds in my backyard oak tree. My husband got me a suet feeder to hang there, as well as my first camera to snap photos of all the woodpeckers and nuthatches that visited. Then I started walking around and noticing all the different bird varieties in my neighborhood. Little did he know I would enjoy it so much and start taking my camera everywhere - on hikes, on my bike rides, on vacations, and visiting local parks almost weekly. I've enjoyed it immensely!! It's also been very rewarding to share my photos and experience with my friends - especially when they get inspired to put up bird feeders, bird baths, and take photos themselves.”

*Baby Oak Titmice in Jennifer’s nest box*

She continues: “I have to say the birding highlight for both my husband and me this year was having Oak Titmice hatch four baby birds in our bird house. We have the bird house in the backyard, so I was able to watch and hear them daily from my office. It was amazing to learn about the nesting process just by watching! (We also did weekly nest checks and logged our data and pictures into the Cornell Lab site.) We were lucky enough to see them within a few hours of leaving the nest box, and we saw them for a few days at the suet feeder. We hope they come back again next year! We've also added a second nest box in the side yard of our house as well.”

Jennifer submitted her data to NestWatch, a community science project that everyone can participate in. Learn more about the project and how you can contribute to it here.

*A Western Screech-Owl roosting at Vicki’s house*

Vicki Levy (Los Altos) tells us: “We had a Western Screech-Owl move into the eave of our house last summer. It comes and goes, but we think we noticed a pattern: it definitely takes up residence before windy or stormy weather.”

She adds: “What a treat for us to play host to this amazing creature. Bonus feature: the local vermin population appears to have been reduced.”

Emma Shelton (Menlo Park) shared her favorite memories of birding last year:

“Getting more bird t-shirts from SCVAS and SFBBO. Everyone I see LOVES the Tyrants of Santa Clara County shirt.
Playing bird ID games
Learning more about bird ID - or putting what I did know to use! - in the past almost two years than ever before
Interacting with immediate neighbors on bird observations
Getting to participate finally for the first time in two Christmas Bird Counts, a Summer Bird Count, and a Fall Bird Photo Count!
Being surprised by seeing what seemed like hundreds of Pine Siskins every day last spring, then getting annoyed with them since the feeders had to come down (due to a salmonellosis outbreak last winter - Editor’s note).
Seeing Red-breasted Nuthatches on the Summer Bird Count day in a deodar cedar tree in Atherton
Birding with our son when he visited in October, for the Fall Bird Photo Count. He did his first SCVAS field trip at Almaden Quicksilver County Park when he was four. Has been birding ever since!”

Monica N. (Milpitas) sent us the following summary and reflections on birding in 2021:

*Anna’s Hummingbirds at Monica’s feeder*

“This last year, Anna’s Hummingbirds continued to be the star attraction and focus in our yard. We have up to six feeders now for the front and back yards. The feeders stood empty in the spring when flowers were abundant but became busy starting midsummer and are incredibly busy now in winter. Usually only one hummingbird can feed at a time for a few seconds as they chase one another like crazy, but now in winter they have to share and we have up to six or seven hummingbirds feeding together at a time. We have to refill the feeders daily.”

*A Northern Mockingbird enjoys a berry in Monica’s yard.*

“Also, seeing the Northern Mockingbirds feeding on the goji berries in our yard is a delightful event.”

“Starting in January 2021, we had the usual winter migrants such as White-crowned Sparrows, Golden-crowned Sparrows, and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. In spring we witnessed the resident pair of American Kestrels mating and building a nest. Starting in late May, for the first year ever, we had a family of Hooded Orioles visiting the hummingbird feeders until late September. This was very exciting for us. They were very skittish at first and it was hard to capture their photos, but they eventually got more friendly and we were treated to their daily presence and sounds.”

*A Golden Eagle soars over Monica’s neighborhood.*

“Another exciting event was stepping into the front yard and witnessing several raptors circling close to us, including a pair of Golden Eagles.”

*A Western Kingbird in the spring sun in Monica’s neighborhood*

She continues: “As we took walks around the neighborhood we noticed the return of Western Kingbirds in spring and of Northern Flickers, and Cedar Waxwings feeding on blooming pistache trees and on persimmon fruits! Cooper’s Hawks continue to be a regular sighting.”

*Cedar Waxwings in a persimmon tree in Monica’s neighborhood*

LC Boros (San Jose) sent us some of the photographs she took during 2021 at her home in the eastern foothills, where she has been working to restore the land. She writes: “We are still working to encourage native grasses to return, but we have documented over 70 different species of birds, not to mention lizards, snakes, various mammals, and salamanders.”

*A young Western Bluebird (right), together with an adult bluebird, in LC’s bird bath*

LC says the Western Bluebird is “the species that started it all: we now have about two dozen nest boxes distributed across the property and have played host to Western Bluebirds as well as Tree Swallows, House Wrens, Bewick’s Wrens, and hopefully next season even more diversity, as I’m about to add larger boxes for American Kestrels, owls, Northern Flickers, etc. We are usually host to between 30 and 40 species of birds year-round.”

“This year we had five breeding pairs of orioles: three pairs of Bullock’s Orioles and two of Hooded Orioles.” In the picture above, you can see four out of the five adult male orioles visiting LC’s feeders.

Here is a selection of photos that LC took around her home in 2021: