Backyard birds of Seattle
Since I'm staying home all day due to the ongoing pandemic emergency, I've decided to document all the different species of birds that arrive in my yard. I am not a great bird photographer but I am enjoying practicing every day.
This will be my last post of 2020 and frankly this year cannot be over soon enough; I hope you are all safe and well. We will pick up in 2021 with more fabulous adventures in coding!
As always, click on any image for a larger version.
Anna's hummingbird - the only hummingbird that stays in the Pacific Northwest all year round. The male has an iridescent magenta head depending on what angle you look at it; the female has just a few iridescent spots.
Bald eagle - this juvenile showed up in my yard for just a few seconds on election day; fortunately I had my camera handy. Bald eagles do not get their characteristic white head until they are four years old.
Bewick's wren - I've only seen this bird once at my feeder this year; they are easily identified by the prominent white eyebrow stripe.
Black-capped chickadee - messy eaters. We also get chestnut-backed chickadees in the area but I have not seen one in my yard yet.
Bushtit - they travel in flocks of a dozen or more and mob suet feeders for a few minutes before flying off. Super cute, and they fly like they're constantly about to fall out of the sky.
California scrub jay - tends to fly in, get in a fight with a bunch of much larger Steller's jays, and leave.
Crow - looks thoroughly metal on a windy day.
Downy woodpecker - easily confused with the hairy woodpecker, which I have not yet seen in my yard. The male has a red cap. The smallest North American woodpecker.
Eastern grey squirrel - HEY YOU'RE NOT A BIRD; GET OUT OF THE BIRD FEEDER
European starling - super invasive, super aggressive, but very pretty little dinosaurs.
House finch - the males are somewhat red, the females are tricky to tell apart from other finches.
Northern flicker - the most common woodpecker in the Pacific Northwest; we typically see the red-shafted" variety which is in fact orange-shafted. This is a female; the male has a red spot on the face.
Oregon junco - this is the Pacific Northwest coloring of the dark-eyed junco. One of the most common feeder birds.
Pine siskin - these little finches look a lot like house finches but they have a yellow flash on their wings. They tend to arrive in groups.
Raven - tis the wind and nothing more. A rare sight in my backyard.
Robin - lives in constant disdain. Not to be confused with the spotted towhee, who thinks you are awesome.
Spotted towhee - looks a bit like a robin, but thinks you are great and that you should give yourself more credit for dealing with a difficult situation this year.
Steller's jay - the classic Pacific Northwest blue jay. Noisy and territorial. But lovely plumage.
And that's all the birds in my backyard in the last few months that I managed to get a picture of.
Have a safe and festive holiday season, but not too festive; we want you and your relatives around for more fabulous adventures in 2021!