Black Phoebe

This little flycatcher has been consistently hanging around the old barn out at the arboretum. I often see it perched on the equipment of the workspace on the south side. It usually will perch close to the ground within three to seven feet. That said, I also observe it sitting on top of the silo or at the apex of the roof. It spends time on a small brush pile at the entrance to the south meadow and next to the river catching insects.

It has a call that Peterson describes as “a sharp slurred chip.” It makes this call quite often, and I will usually hear it calling before I spot it. As I was taking these photos, it was constantly shifting its head as it watched for insects, and it would often turn to look over its shoulder.

Pacific Wren

I love this little bird. This year I noted that I hadn’t seen Pacific wrens around all summer. This fall I started seeing them and read that during the nonbreeding season, some males move to lower elevations. So, maybe these birds are breeding higher up in the Cascades or the Coast Range and wintering down in the valley.

A couple of days ago in the late afternoon I was lucky enough to catch a photo of this action-packed creature. It moves so swiftly and lightly as it flits through the ground vegetation gleaning insects. As I am watching this bird forage along the forest floor, it will often disappear under a log or the fronds of a sword fern. It will often reappear unexpectedly out of the underbrush beside me, as if it travelled through a secret passageway.

I usually get clued in to their location when I hear their call which Peterson describes as “a hard, two-syllable timp-timp.” They have a beautiful song that Peterson characterizes as “a rapid succession of high tinkling warbles, trills.”

Click here to listen to their calls and song:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pacific_Wren/sounds

Mourning Doves

This beautiful bird is often foraging along the gravel paths around the White Oak Pavilion. Its quiet demeanor and earth-tone coloration enable it to blend in well with its surroundings.

There were always doves around my home when I was growing up, and they will always remind me of my childhood. They have a gentle, peaceful song. When it takes off and lands its wings make a soft, whistling sound.

It’s comforting to see them around Mt. Pisgah, and I always look for them. The last few years I have seen them building a nest in one of the trees around the pavilion.

Click here to listen to there song and calls:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mourning_Dove/sounds

Hermit Thrush

I love this bird. When I come across a hermit thrush, it is because I’m moving very slowly and tuning into my surroundings. This bird blends in well on the forest floor, and it moves around quietly as it forages. In my experience, if I am quiet and still, it will usually tolerate my presence, and it will often forage quite close by where I can observe it.

While taking these photos, I noticed it would subtly shake its leg when it paused during foraging on the forest floor. The All About Birds website by The Cornell Lab states: ”They sometimes pick up leaf litter with their bills or shake grass with their feet to find insects.”

I also realized that the spots on its breast are blurry or smudged. You can see in the photo below that it has a rufous tail. As it perched on the limb, it had the behavior of cocking its tail and slowly lowering it. It would also lightly flick its wings.

Whenever I see this bird, I have a feeling of serenity and gentleness.

This bird has a beautiful, sylvan song. Click below to have a listen:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Hermit_Thrush/sounds

Chickadee Foragings

Over the past couple-three weeks, I have observed chickadees eating some part of the bud of the Oregon white oak. Sometimes it breaks off the bud, takes it to a nearby branch, dissects it and appears to eat part of the bud. Other times it will just hang on the branch, open the bud and eat. It all happens with typical chickadee exuberance, so it doesn’t take them long to get at the little morsel of food they are seeking. I saw them yesterday, for the first time, doing the same thing to the cottonwood trees along the river.

In The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior, he had this to say about the Paridae family to which chickadees belong: “Members of the Paridae share several diagnostic feeding behaviors. Specialized leg muscles enable these birds to feed acrobatically (they often feed while hanging upside down), making them particularly adept at exploiting resources in difficult locations, such as buds at the ends of twigs.”

Gratitude

The past few days, chilly mornings have evolved into pleasantly warm afternoons. As I entered the arboretum, I was greeted by the melodic notes of the song sparrow. The sun sure felt good, and a song was well suited for the moment. Thanks.

Winter Gems

This bird’s common name is Steller’s Jay. Its Latin name is Cyanocitta stelleri. When I searched for the translation , I found that the name Cyanocitta is a combination of the Greek words kuanos, meaning "dark blue", and kitta, meaning "jay".

I love watching this beautiful bird. I caught it here, quietly perched on a branch in the sun observing its surroundings. Lately I have watched them busily collecting acorns and burying them in the forest. They have strong legs and can often be observed hoping around the branches of a tree.

Steller’s jays can be very vocal birds. Peterson’s field guide describes it this way: “Loud shook-shook-shook or shack-shack-shack or wheck-wek-wek-wek or kwesh kwesh kwesh; harsh jjaairr and many other notes. Frequently mimics hawks.” Try making these sounds.

Anna's Hummingbird

As I entered the arboretum, I saw a male Anna’s hummingbird performing his steep J-shaped dive. I watched him dive and circle back up to his starting point four or five times. He then perched on a branch towards the top of a tree where he began vocalizations and displaying his iridescent, gorget feathers. I soon discovered the female perched on this small branch in front of me. The male continued his displays, and I took a few photos as she perched there so still. When I looked at the photos at home I noticed that her eyes were closed in a bunch of photos. In The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior, David Sibley writes, “The female may appear mesmerized, often closing her eyes and becoming frozen in position during the shuttle displays.” Sibley also writes, “Hummingbirds do not form pair bonds; they come together only to mate. Males therefore set up territories where they will encounter females, while females claim territories with good nesting sites.” I am left wondering why all this is happening in December.

Vocalization description:
The Cornell lab says, ”Anna’s Hummingbirds have a distinctive song that is long for a hummingbird (10 seconds or more). It's a series of buzzes, then a clearer, more tuneful whistle, followed by more emphatic chip notes; then the bird may repeat the whole set of buzz-whistle-chip sounds.” Click the link to listen.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Annas_Hummingbird/sounds

Click on images to enlarge.

Mistletoe Berries

As I started out on a walk yesterday at the arboretum, I noticed some birds fluttering around In the oak trees by the parking lot at arboretum. They were in the trees just above the office. As I walked up there to take a closer look, I saw that they were western bluebirds. As I watched them, I noticed that the mistletoe was loaded with berries, and they were excitedly feasting on them. I hadn’t noticed the berries on the mistletoe, and I was grateful to the bluebirds for pointing them out.

Listen for the call of the western bluebird. Peterson describes it as a “short pew or mew.” Cornell Lab of Ornithology describes, “The most common call is a soft, quavering kew that may be given from a perch or in flight and is often given several times in succession.”

Click here to have a listen: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Western_Bluebird/sounds

Ready and... Action!

Ruby-crowned Kinglets are one of my favorite birds. Over the past couple of weeks they have migrated back to the area.

I see them in mixed flocks with golden-crowned kinglets, chickadees, bushtits, nuthatches and brown creepers. They are very energetic, zipping from one branch to another gleaning insects. I will often see them hover in place underneath a leaf or branch of a plant as they catch an insect.

I will often hear their call note that Peterson describes in his field guide as a husky "ji-dit”. Even now I will occasionally hear them sing a line of their song. It is such a sweet, warbling whistle. Peterson describes it as, “several high notes, lower notes, and a chant, tee tee tee-tew tew tew — ti-didee, tididee, tididee.”

I managed to get a photo that wasn’t completely a blur of this high-spirited, enthusiastic creature.

Feathers

Mt. Pisgah is a great place to go bird watching. Occasionally, I’ll get lucky and find a feather. They come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. They can have patterns on them too. Birds have different types of feathers on their bodies and each type of feather has a specific function. For example, wing and tail feathers help with flight. It is always interesting to try and figure out what type of feather I have found and maybe, what bird dropped it there.

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