Today I heard a familiar loud chirp and saw the beautiful red-whiskered bulbul in my sycamore tree.  It landed very near my front window so I got a good long look, admiring his crest and patches of red. The bulbul is not a native bird, but is originally from Asia, and began showing up in Southern California in the Huntington Gardens in l968, I saw one at Descanso Gardens in 2004 and they made their way to my neighborhood around 5 years ago. 

Red-crowned Parrots

Three red-crowned parrots, squawking loudly amongst themselves,  flew overhead the other day as I was on my walk down Glenoaks Boulevard.  Beautiful birds to see in flight, despite their lack of musicality.

The Pause That Refreshes

Two Mourning Doves taking a break from the 90 degree heat.

Six Degrees of Separation from a Golden Crowned Sparrow

An Op-Ed piece I read recently in the Los Angeles Times rang a bell for me.  This sounds like the very sparrow my niece researched for her PhD!  Sure enough, Daizaburo Shizuka, was her advisor and this was her sparrow!
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-03-15/op-ed-for-scientists-good-research-is-not-enough-we-have-to-tell-our-stories

Cassin's Kingbird

Saw a new bird on my walk today.  I knew it was a flycatcher but not sure which.  Luckily I had my camera along for future reference when I got home. I got all of my bird books out, consulted the internet, looked at nearby sightings of various birds on my Audubon app. but finally, via email,  turned to the family expert, my brother-in-law.  He looked at my photo and said he thought it was either a Western Kingbird or a Cassin's Kingbird, but leaned towards the Cassin's.  Cassin's it is!

A Thrilling Sight!

Today while having breakfast in my breakfast room, I happened to look out at my Sycamore tree and spotted a beautiful yellow bird with a red head, a Western Tanager.  This is a bird I have never seen in my yard or neighborhood before. A thrilling sight! I didn't have time to grab my binoculars, let alone my camera, but luckily it was close enough that I got a good look.  This photo I found on the internet.

New Sighting Today!

This morning I saw some unusual activity in the sycamore tree in my front yard.  A bird was flitting and hopping from branch to branch, behavior that my usual house finches, mourning doves and lesser goldfinches never do.  It definitely got my interest so I grabbed my binoculars and saw a bird I have not seen in my yard for many years: the Nuttall's Woodpecker. Yay! I was not quick enough to get a photo but found this wonderful one on the internet.  The bird I saw did not have a red head but looked like this so it was a female. The black and white speckles on its body make it quite distinctive.  Spotting this bird today made my day!

What You Need for Backyard Birding

A couple of things are essential for backyard birding.  Good binoculars are a must.  On my sister's recommendation, I purchased these from Amazon and I am very happy with them.  They are fairly light and I can focus them quickly which is essential when you just catch a glimpse of a bird.

Wingspan Optics SkyView Ultra HD - 8X42 Binoculars for Bird Watching for Adults With ED Glass. Waterproof, Wide Field of View, Close Focus. Experience

A camera with a telephoto lens is also helpful if you are uncertain about a bird and want to take a close look later for identification purposes.  My cell phone is wonderful but can't do everything.  This is the camera I use.

When I was birding at Descanso years ago, I carried a bird book along with me to reference and to keep track of what I was seeing.  Now, thanks to the wonderful world of apps, I can just use the Audubon app on my phone for this. I highly recommend it.

Here are some invaluable links for the SoCal birder:

https://www.sfvaudubon.org/sfv-backyard-bird-identification/

https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/1827

http://birding.aba.org/mobiledigest/CA06

I Did It!

Recently a new bird came to my feeder. I should say a new family of birds.  If there's one bird I'm very familiar with, it's the House Finch, and this definitely wasn't a House Finch.  It had speckles on it, and a house finch has streaks. But it had the shape and beak of a House Finch.  Could it be a kind of sparrow?  Like a Fox Sparrow? The next day I got my camera out and took a picture. I googled finch with speckles and I found out what it is...a Scaly-Breasted Munia. See if you agree...
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/scaly-breasted-munia

Scaly-Breasted Munia aka Nutmeg Mannikin

The Sibley Field Guide to Birds states  "Small populations established in southern California since l980s." 

This fellow always makes me smile.

Yes, I love seeing the Acorn Woodpecker at the feeder. His bright red head and the white ring around his beak make him look kind of clown like.  He always looks a little clumsy as he hangs on to the feeder, making it swing wildly back and forth. He brightens my day when he comes to the feeder.

  

Oh, no! A Coronavirus Shortage

Yes, there's been a shortage of birdseed.  No birdseed at all at Costco.  No birdseed at Ralphs.  My last bag of Costco seeds was getting low.

My 20 lb. bag is down to the last few seeds

Petco to the rescue.  Two 33 lb bags of seeds! This should last (I hope). 

But would the birds like it?  It has dried fruit in it and they're not used to that.  Well, as you could see in the photo of the bird feeder from the earlier post, they lowered the feeder down to the bottom in less than one day. Yes, they like it...unless the squirrel got it. That's always a possibility. 

Backyard Birding Ready

Gradually over the years my birding readiness has increased. For many years I had this one humming bird feeder that is on my front porch and easily visible from inside the house. 

Allen's Hummingbird in action

Then I added this birdbath,

followed by a bird feeder to the front yard,

House Finch

then another feeder and birdbath to the backyard,

One feeder's nearly empty, I see. Just filled it yesterday...

and, finally, a goldfinch feeder in the front yard.

If I'm not backyard birding ready, I don't know who is!  

Final shot for this post of a Mourning Dove enjoying  the birdbath.

My Bucket List Bird

This past February I was fortunate enough to visit my college roommate, Karen, and her significant, other, Craig, in Boquete, Panama, where they spend several months each winter.  I had visited Karen and Craig there in 2012 and, although I had a wonderful time, I did not see a bird I longed to see, the Resplendent Quetzal.  I did purchase a wood carving of one and it, along with a plaque of a Quetzal I received as a gift 30 years ago, are both hanging on the walls in my kitchen.

 One day about six months ago when I was in my kitchen and gazing at my quetzals, I suddenly got an urge to see this beauty in person.  It became a bucket list item. I saw that Road Scholar offered a trip to Costa Rica which included Quetzal sighting on its itinerary and told my friend Karen about my plans.  She replied,  "That's silly. Just visit us.  Craig is a wonderful birder, as you know, and he'll find a Quetzal for you." And so it happened.  Craig, true to Karen's promise, found a glorious Resplendent Quetzal for me to see, along with about 55 other life birds, and my bucket list dream was fulfilled.  This bird lived up to its promise and truly is the most beautiful bird I have ever seen. Thank you, Craig and Karen.

My Birding Background

I come from a long line of birders.  My father always had a pair of binoculars around his neck whenever he had the opportunity to look at birds. I could always ask him the name of a bird I saw and he had a ready answer.

Dad, with ever-present binoculars, and Mom

Then, when my brother-in-law joined our family, we had two men with binoculars around their necks and two family members to answer my questions.

Dad, my brother-in-law and binocular-less me 

In the late l990s and early 2000s, I was a regular on the Sunday morning birdwalks at Descanso Gardens. We had our wonderful leaders, Karen and Nancy, who led these walks and, again, as in the situation with my Dad and brother-in-law, I'd say, "What bird is that?" and get a knowledgeable answer.  I was on a bird walk, after all, and they were there to tell me the answers.

In other words, it seemed that there was always someone who could tell me what bird I was looking at so I didn’t really have to apply myself and actually learn the names of the birds myself! Somehow it was always easier to let the experts give me an answer.

I did try, though.  I bought lots of books over the years and promptly put them on my bookshelf without truly studying them.  

My Bird Books and Journals

Now many years have passed.  People know I have had an long-standing interest in birding and, of course, will ask me, “What bird is that?”  Sadly, I cannot always answer them with certainty.  My dad, brother-in-law and the birding leaders aren’t around to ask.  Now is the time for me to finally learn the names of the birds I have long admired and enjoyed around my home for the past 30+ years!  Yes, this can happen! This will happen!