There has been a steady stream of birds at our back yard feeder for the past couple of weeks. The Pine Siskins are at the feeder several times per day, anywhere from a few birds to more than a dozen. It is interesting to notice the variable yellow coloring in the males, the lack of yellow in the females, and the aggressive males when their spot on the feeder is being challenged.
Male Pine Siskins
Male and female Pine Siskins
Male Pine Siskin
I arrived at the trail at 9:15 this morning, and it was fairly quiet at first. The sun was out, but there was a good breeze from the northwest. I saw two Red-tailed Hawks cruising the area, and then the F-15 Crows decided that the hawks were in restricted air space, and escorted them out of the area. Once the Red-tailed Hawks where gone, the little birds came out. One of the Red-tailed Hawks returned to the trail just before I left. In less than 1-1/2 hours I had 31 species on the trail.
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk and escort
Red-tailed Hawk and escort
Red-tailed Hawk and escort
Red-tailed Hawk
I only saw five species of sparrows on the trail today: Song, Field, White-throated, Chipping, and Dark-eyed Junco.
Song Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Although I expected to see a Yellow-rumped Warbler, a Palm Warbler is rare here in November.
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Palm Warbler
Palm Warbler
Palm Warbler
Palm Warbler
There were several Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers on the trail, as well as Flickers, Red-bellied, and Pileated Woodpeckers.
Male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Flicker
Immature Red-winged Blackbird
Black Vultures "So, how was your day? Find any good road kill?"
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
As I started back on the downstream trail toward my car, a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk did a low pass flyover just above my head - almost in the same location where a juvenile Northern Harrier flew overhead two days ago.
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
I needed to run an errand up on the mountain, and decided to check out a few locations there. There was very little avian activity, and at the Raven's Roost overlook, a Common Raven came by to check me out.
Common Raven
Today's RV Trail list (31 species):
Field Sparrow Chipping Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Eastern Phoebe Starling Eastern Bluebird Rock Pigeon Belted Kingfisher Great Blue Heron Pileated Woodpecker Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Flicker Blue Jay White-breasted Nuthatch Red-tailed Hawk Red-shouldered Hawk American Crow Carolina Wren Yellow-rumped Warbler American Goldfinch Red-winged Blackbird Ruby-crowned Kinglet Golden-crowned Kinglet Turkey Vulture Black Vulture Northern Mockingbird Northern Cardinal |