Backyard Bird Observations
from our Members and Friends
Without a doubt, the theme for the past month was nests! During April, you observed nest-building, nests, nestlings, and fledglings of fourteen different species: Canada Goose, Anna’s Hummingbird, Nuttall’s Woodpecker, Western Kingbird, American Crow, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Oak Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, House Wren, Bewick’s Wren, Western Bluebird, Lesser Goldfinch, Hooded Oriole, and Bullock’s Oriole. As always, please follow NestWatch’s Code of Conduct when observing nests.
April was also a month of comings and goings, which you documented near your homes. Many of our summer resident birds arrived to spend the breeding season here, like Western Kingbirds, Western Wood-Pewees, Hooded Orioles, and Bullock’s Orioles. Allen’s Hummingbirds and Rufous Hummingbirds passed through our area on the way to their summer grounds (the Allen’s may stay here to breed too). At the same time, many of our winter resident birds left for their breeding grounds elsewhere, most noticeably White-crowned Sparrows and Golden-crowned Sparrows, but also White-throated Sparrows.
Woodpeckers turned out to be the bird mascots of April, showing up in a surprising number of your accounts. Downy Woodpeckers made their first appearances in some of your yards, causing excitement, as did the first sighting of a Hairy Woodpecker at a feeder (which was also the first report of this species to All Around Town). And don’t miss the slow-motion video below of a Nuttall’s Woodpecker foraging and gulping down an insect!
All Around Town turned 100 this month, reaching and surpassing the 100-species mark on our cumulative bird list! As of today, you’ve observed and reported 104 species of birds in your yards and neighborhoods. In the past month, we added seven new species, and separated our combined entry for Allen’s/Rufous Hummingbird into two individual species on the list. Scroll down for the complete list of species observed, and to see which birds are new to our list.
And finally, we’ve got stories of crow antics at feeders and peacock intruders in the house! Enjoy this month’s All Around Town, and thank you to all who contributed.
Here are your stories, lists, and photos from the past month:
White-throated Sparrow in Carol Ann’s yard
Carol Ann Krug Graves (Monte Sereno) tells us: “We don’t see White-throated Sparrows very often when we’re out birding, but this past winter and spring, we’ve been delighted to have one as a regular visitor to our yard. We’re fortunate to always have a good variety of species in our yard, but this year is the first that we’ve seen this sparrow. We’ve been very happy to have this beautiful bird around. Recently, I finally got out my camera to take photos, and thought that I would send a couple along.”
White-throated Sparrows are less-common winter residents of Santa Clara County. In April and May, they leave our area for their breeding grounds in Canada and parts of the northern United States.
Carol Ann reports that she hasn’t seen the bird since April 30, so perhaps it’s left for the spring, heading north to its breeding grounds.
One of the Western Kingbirds observed in a neighborhood park in Milpitas
An All Around Town contributor in Milpitas writes: “This early spring has been exciting in terms of birds in our neighborhood. Our Western Kingbirds, up to four of them, have returned since the last week of March. I like their noisy chitterings and their energy. I believe they might be nesting because I see them carrying nest materials. In the daytime they may fly away but they always come back at night to rest in the trees at the neighborhood park. Hooded Orioles also came back at the end of March.”
A female Allen’s or Rufous Hummingbird in Milpitas. Females of the two species usually cannot be told apart by visual observation in the field.
“This spring we have so many Allen’s Hummingbirds and at least two or three Rufous Hummingbirds, sometimes at the profusely-flowering bottlebrush trees in the neighborhood park.”
An Orange-crowned Warbler in a bottlebrush tree
“There were also new birds seen at the park for the first time such as Orange-crowned Warbler, Western Wood-Pewee, and Black-crowned Night-Heron.”
A Western Wood-Pewee discovered at a Milpitas park
Our contributor adds: “One day I was taking a walk after a rain shower and found up to four night herons hanging around in trees and foraging in the grasses. It was fun to see these herons in a park without a pond.”
Black-crowned Night-Herons forage in the grass of a neighborhood park in Milpitas. Although known for hunting in water, night herons are opportunistic foragers and eat a wide variety of foods including insects, worms, lizards, and snakes.
Jack Cole (San Jose) tells us that he spotted a Rufous Hummingbird in his yard: “It’s been years since I’ve seen one of these. It made a brief stop at my feeder in early April.”
A Nuttall’s Woodpecker forages and eats in Mary Ann’s yard
Mary Ann Robertson (Los Altos) says: “I observed a Nuttall's Woodpecker taking tasty grubs out of my locust tree. I was able to take a video and then slow it down so I could see the woodpecker probing for and catching the meal. I’m glad I made the video because it shows me a lot more than I could see with my eye from the ground!”
The Nuttall’s Woodpecker that Mary Ann recorded in her video
Curt Bianchi (Saratoga) sent us the following story:
“Our suet feeder has been hanging in our front yard for over a year now. We get a regular parade of the usual oak savanna birds such as Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Dark-eyed Juncos, Oak Titmice, Nuttall’s Woodpeckers, and White-breasted Nuthatches (known as “stabby beaks” by my wife). Lately we have added Golden-crowned Sparrows, House Finches, and a California Scrub-Jay. We even got a Yellow-rumped Warbler a time or two this winter.”
An American Crow at one of the Bianchis’ suet feeders (photo by Sue Bianchi)
“But most unusual to me has been the recent appearance of an American Crow. Of course we have crows in the neighborhood, but none came to the feeder until now. It definitely takes the prize for largest bird to feed from the suet cake. Like the scrub jay, the crow often flaps its wings trying to hover at the suet cake in order to bite off pieces. At other times, it grabs hold of the suet cage and hangs on with its feet, which seems easier if you ask me. As far as biting off pieces, the crow gets some big ones! We’re talking the size of nickels.”
A crow extracts a chunk of suet (photo by Sue Bianchi)
He continues: “A few months ago we added a suet feeder to the backyard. We have noticed that the crow also feeds at that feeder. That seems kind of greedy to me. It’s kind of like a child asking both its mom and dad for a cookie, and then taking two. Anyway, the crow has provided new entertainment at the feeder. Kind of makes me wonder what else might eventually show up!”
Michelle Viegas (Cupertino) writes: “I was so lucky to have about five Canada Geese that hung around for more than a day at home, along with the cutest little goslings whose feathers looked silky and gold as the sun set.”
Canada Geese and their young near Michelle’s home
She continues: “The older birds were very protective of the babies and kept watch if anyone was in their territory. As little as they were, the babies hung around the older birds trying not to move away from the group. As night approached they snuck under the feathers of one adult and felt secure and protected from predators.”
Emma Shelton (Menlo Park) reports: “Lots of changes this past month, with the Golden-crowned Sparrows and White-crowned Sparrows leaving. On April 13 they were gone, except for one Golden-crowned who showed itself on April 21.”
Emma’s caption: “April 10, Golden-crowned Sparrow says, ‘Don’t mind me, I’m just packing for a long journey.’”
“White-breasted Nuthatches seem to be pretty constant, but the multitude of Pygmy Nuthatches disappeared on April 3 and didn’t reappear until April 17! The Bewick’s Wrens also seemed to have gone into hiding during that same period, and are back again.”
A Pygmy Nuthatch at Emma’s feeder. Emma says: “Starting to see several around the feeders every day after they took a vacation mid-April.”
“The American Crows are really getting bold, and are coming into the backyard more frequently and being quite raucous. They dig up areas of the front yard and take thatch with them for nests. We started seeing a Cooper’s Hawk sitting in the redwood tree across the street, and a couple times being chased by a crow! On April 3, I saw a Turkey Vulture fly over, which I haven’t seen around here but certainly elsewhere.”
“Our regular woodpeckers in this neighborhood are Downy Woodpecker and Nuttall’s Woodpecker, but yesterday I caught what I am pretty sure is a Hairy Woodpecker on the backyard feeder! Kind of like a Downy but with a big bill and was larger.”
Here is Emma’s species list for April:
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Anna’s Hummingbird - Still seeing one or two every couple of days on any red flower or salvia. One day I saw one go after the long red tubular sedum flowers by the front door.
Gull species - flyover
Turkey Vulture - flyover
Cooper’s Hawk
Downy Woodpecker - every day one or two on the feeders
Nuttall’s Woodpecker - same as Downy
Hairy Woodpecker
California Scrub-Jay - See them every day in the yard, usually one at a time. Wow they are big compared to the other birds!
American Crow
Common Raven
Chestnut-backed Chickadee - Lots every day. They like the feeders and the suet.
Oak Titmouse - Seen usually at the same time as the chickadees, more than before, must have nests somewhere.
Tree Swallow
White-breasted Nuthatch
Pygmy Nuthatch
Bewick’s Wren
House Finch - LOTS
Lesser Goldfinch - LOTS and lots
Dark-eyed Junco - LOTS now again after their mid-April spring break
White-crowned Sparrow - Lots of nice healthy-looking birds were here until April 12!
Golden-crowned Sparrow - Big healthy-looking birds were here until April 12, like the White-crowneds, although one was seen on April 21. Probably forgot something.
California Towhee
Spotted Towhee
Snowy Egrets have dark bills, whereas Great Egrets have pale ones.
Linden Skjeie (San Jose) sent us the above picture of a Snowy Egret emerging from a water channel near her house.
A tiny Downy Woodpecker at Steven’s feeder. The bird has a bright red nape, making it identifiable as an adult male.
Steven Rice (Palo Alto) sent us an e-mail entitled “Empty April.” “Only the usual birds were at my feeder,” he reports, although he was excited to have a Downy Woodpecker visit at the beginning of May.
A Downy Woodpecker visits Jennifer’s yard
Jennifer Oliver (San Jose) was also happy to have a visit from a Downy. “We were sitting outside on the back patio,” she writes, “and heard an unusual woodpecker call. Not like the Nuttall’s Woodpeckers that we usually see. I ran in to grab my binoculars and a camera. Sure enough, it was the first Downy Woodpecker I’ve seen in our yard! Very cool!”
She continues: “This last month we’ve been enjoying all the new fledglings at our feeders (Chestnut-backed Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatches, Nuttall’s Woodpeckers, and Anna’s Hummingbirds). It’s interesting that the woodpeckers are quite shy, but the others are quite aggressive around the feeders. And the nuthatches seem the most curious and explore all over the fence and house.”
An Oak Titmouse nestling, right before it fledged from Jennifer’s nest box
“The highlight has been getting to experience another family of Oak Titmice in our bird box. We had three fledglings leave at the end of April. It just so happened that morning I went outside with my binoculars and saw the little ones peeking out of the box and starting to get curious. Then when I went out later at lunch, I was so lucky to be there when one of the parents called to the nestling and I got to see them take their first flights! How wonderful! Here is a photo (above) of the first fledgling right before he/she flew out.”
A Bewick’s Wren at work on a nest in one of Jennifer’s nest boxes. Male Bewick’s Wrens often start construction of the nest, then both members of the pair continue building it together.
Jennifer says that as of the end of April, “we also have a Bewick’s Wren that has started building a nest in our other bird box. But the last couple of days I have not seen any further activity, so we will see if it will become an active nest. Crossing my fingers! This time of the year is so fun to just enjoy all the birding activity in our yard and we love it!”
LC Boros (San Jose) has five or six nesting pairs of orioles - both Bullock’s Orioles and Hooded Orioles - on her property right now. She’s going through about a gallon of sugar water every two days! She also recently discovered a Western Kingbird, the 75th bird species that she’s observed on her land.
Western Bluebird nestlings in one of LC’s nest boxes
LC has sixteen nest boxes at her home this spring. She writes: “About one third of our nest boxes are in use, and when I did checks recently these wee ones (above) were sound asleep.” Right now, four of the boxes host Western Bluebirds, one has House Wrens, and another has White-breasted Nuthatches.
A herpetological discovery - a gopher snake - in one of LC’s nest boxes
Regarding the photo above, LC writes: “Another box saw some Western Bluebirds already fledge, which is good as this non-bird was hiding in it. I have since replaced the box with another that opens from the side and is mounted on the fence post via a section of conduit to help keep such critters out in the future.”
She continues: “We also have a barn full of about a hundred swallows. They like to follow behind the heavy machinery eating all the bugs.”
A feral Indian Peafowl in LC’s yard. The birds, which are native to Asia, were introduced into the United States as an ornamental species. Some of these birds escaped or were released and have established feral populations.
LC says “feral peacocks (Indian Peafowl) are a thing - just be sure to close your doors or else they will come inside when you’re not looking.”
Deanne Tucker (Los Altos) told us at the end of April that she had fewer birds at her feeders this month.
A White-breasted Nuthatch in Deanne’s yard. Males have a black crown, like this bird has. Females usually have a paler gray crown.
She writes: “I still do get House Finches (and one pair of Lesser Goldfinches once this week) along with Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Oak Titmice, nuthatches, California Towhees, Spotted Towhees, Dark-eyed Juncos, a pair of California Scrub-Jays and American Crows (who occasionally try to get at the suet feeder). Also Nuttall's Woodpeckers and Anna's Hummingbirds. I had a one-time visit by a Chipping Sparrow, but I didn't have my camera handy!”
Deanne reports that her second Anna’s Hummingbird nest is still active: “The babies are now visible above the top of the nest sometimes.”
Chestnut-backed Chickadee in Deanne’s yard
She adds: “I think lots of birds are nesting nearby. I've seen chickadees and Lesser Goldfinches harvesting spider webs off the eaves of the house.”
A Cedar Waxwing forages on ivy berries.
“We had a big flock of Cedar Waxwings come through at the end of April and some were eating our ivy berries. I'm guessing the berries are pretty ripe by now - maybe fermented!”
A hungry Cedar Waxwing enjoys eating at Deanne’s.
Happy backyard birding in May, everyone!
What birds are you seeing and hearing in your yard and neighborhood?
Send your notes, lists, and photos to backyardbirds@scvas.org. We’ll feature them in our next edition of All Around Town.
Bird species reported to All Around Town
from October 2020 onwards
(species in bold are new this month)
Greater White-fronted Goose
Canada Goose
Mallard
Bufflehead
California Quail
Wild Turkey
Indian Peafowl (feral)
Rock Pigeon
Band-tailed Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Anna’s Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Allen’s Hummingbird
Killdeer
California Gull
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Turkey Vulture
White-tailed Kite
Golden Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Ferruginous Hawk
Barn Owl
Western Screech-Owl
Great Horned Owl
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Acorn Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Nuttall’s Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Merlin
Olive-sided Flycatcher (observed in fall 2021)
Western Wood-Pewee
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Black Phoebe
Say’s Phoebe
Western Kingbird
Hutton’s Vireo
Cassin’s Vireo
Steller’s Jay
California Scrub-Jay
Yellow-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Oak Titmouse
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Barn Swallow
Bushtit
Wrentit
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Pygmy Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
House Wren
Bewick’s Wren
European Starling
California Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
Western Bluebird
Varied Thrush
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
Scaly-breasted Munia
House Sparrow
House Finch
Purple Finch
Pine Siskin
Lesser Goldfinch
Lawrence’s Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
Chipping Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow
California Towhee
Spotted Towhee
Western Meadowlark
Hooded Oriole
Bullock’s Oriole
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Townsend’s Warbler
Black-headed Grosbeak
Lazuli Bunting
Hybrid ducks, domestic ducks, unidentified gull species, and Allen’s/Rufous Hummingbirds have also been reported to All Around Town.
References
The Avocet, Spring 2022: “What to Look For” (Hummingbirds) by Matthew Dodder, SCVAS Executive Director
The Avocet, Spring 2021: “What to Look For” (Flycatchers) by Matthew Dodder, SCVAS Executive Director
Birds of the World (2022). Edited by S. M. Billerman, B. K. Keeney, P. G. Rodewald, and T. S. Schulenberg. Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/home
eBird. 2022. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance [web application]. eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Available: http://www.ebird.org (Accessed: May 2022)
NestWatch (2022) Code of Conduct, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology
All Around Town is compiled by SCVAS Member Julie Amato.
Banner Photo: Oak Titmouse about to fledge by Jennifer Oliver