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."