60 Yard Birds
Picture this:
In a garden of native plants, along the edge of a streamside grove of oaks and cottonwoods, tanagers and grosbeaks fly from branch to branch, flashes of brilliant color against a tapestry of muted greens and browns. Woodpeckers and nuthatches hitch up the trunks of oaks, gleaning insects from crevices, while doves, quail and juncos pick up seeds from the ground. A jay calls raucously, and another answers. Finches and titmice visit swaying seed feeders, and flycatchers perch on conspicuous branches, sallying out to nab passing insects. A hawk rides the thermals above, while a screech-owl peers sleepily from a cavity in an old cottonwood. A dazzling array of bejeweled hummingbirds buzz from flowers to nectar feeders to flowers and back again.
From the trees along the creek echoes the peculiarly unique bark-like call of an Elegant Trogon.
This, of course, is not my backyard!
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| This, however, is my backyard! (American Goldfinch, last April) |
Last year, Eric and I had the opportunity to visit Southeastern Arizona, where we spent about a week traveling through one of the birdiest places I have ever been, seeing some of the most highly sought-after birds in North America. Several of the places we visited featured beautiful bird gardens, landscaped with native plants and augmented by an array of bird feeders. (Read about our whole trip here!)
While we haunted these gardens, quietly watching the birds, inspiration struck!
Our Central Valley town is certainly not awash with prime bird habitat. In fact, there is scarcely a scrap of natural habitat to be found for miles around, insulated as we are by intensively farmed agricultural land. (The best "habitat" our town has to offer is the landscaped university campus, which includes a handful of ponds and boasts a species list of about 80.) But, thought I, we do have House Finches and Mourning Doves, which is better than having no birds at all, and these, at least, are native species!
So, I resolved to install a few bird feeders once we returned home from Arizona, just to see what would happen.
At this point in our journey of homeownership, we had already removed our front lawn, replacing it with a garden of native plants. In our previously lawn-and-dirt backyard, we did the same, removing all the lawn and replacing it with a large kitchen garden, backyard orchard and what I call my "songbird garden," which consists of a selection of native plants, chosen especially for the birds, and supplemented with an array of feeders and birdbaths.
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| The humble beginnings of our songbird garden (bird feeders are just out of the shot to the left.) |
Planting with the birds in mind, we added native plants chosen for the fruit, seeds, nectar and/or shelter they would offer. Just a few of these plants include: coffeeberry, Oregon grape, toyon, manzanita, buckwheat, salvias, ceanothus, currants, hummingbird sage, California fuchsia, deer grass, and redbud. We have plans to fill a back corner with elderberry and a couple coyote brushes. Most of the plants in our garden are still quite small, but I've already watched as Orange-crowned Warblers investigate the salvias, Lesser Goldfinches snack on deer grass seed, and hummingbirds visit our various nectar-producing flowers.
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| Lesser Goldfinches, acrobatically feeding on deer grass seed stalks. |
We also installed a few nest boxes (no takers yet), and several small birdbaths. In a selection of feeders, we offer black oil sunflower seeds (the favorite choice of House Finches), millet (sold as a "finch blend" that is ironically preferred by sparrows and doves), and Nyjer seed (in specialized feeders that the goldfinches find irresistible.) I also maintain a few hummingbird feeders, strategically placed outside the windows for optimum close-up viewing opportunities (just don't move too quickly!)
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| Feisty little Rufous Hummingbirds stop over briefly during spring and fall migration. |
A little over a year later, the list of species I have observed and counted either in, around or flying over our humble quarter-acre Central Valley yard has already reached sixty-one!
Year-round, House Finches, Lesser Goldfinches, and Mourning Doves visit the seed feeders, while Anna's Hummingbirds visit the nectar feeders and flowers. Northern Mockingbirds, California Scrub-jays, and American Crows are usually conspicuous in the trees around the yard. Bushtits and Black Phoebes can almost always be found nearby, and most days I hear, if not see, a Nuttall's Woodpecker. Cooper's and Red-shouldered Hawks make occasional but regular visits throughout the year. European Starlings and Eurasian Collared Doves often hang out on nearby powerlines, but rarely venture into our yard (for which I am thankful!) I've seen a House Wren hanging around a few times and would love it if he decided to stay! (I plan to put up a couple of wren-sized nest boxes soon.)
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| A male House Finch munching black oil sunflower seeds. |
In the winter, American Goldfinches join the flock at the Nyjer feeders, while White-crowned Sparrows, Golden-crowned Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos prefer the millet feeders. Red-breasted Nuthatches and Northern Flickers are regularly heard calling, Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Yellow-rumped Warblers forage for insects in the trees and shrubs, and a flock of Cedar Waxwings often swoops in to perch high in the bare branches of the pecan tree. While Western Bluebirds and American Robins are in the area throughout the year, they are more conspicuous in our neighborhood during the winter, and occasionally grace our yard with their presence. Sharp-shinned Hawks stop by on occasion during the winter as well, hoping for an easy meal.
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| American Goldfinches flocking to the feeders: black oil sunflower seeds (left) and Nyjer seed (right). |
In the summer, Black-chinned Hummingbirds join Anna's Hummingbirds at the nectar feeders (and chase the larger hummers away!) and Swainson's Hawks are often spotted soaring overhead.
Regular fly-overs include Canada Geese and Mallards, Sandhill Cranes during migration, and Rock Pigeons (luckily none of the latter have landed in our area yet!)
While of course we lack Arizona's brilliant Hepatic and Summer Tanagers, we have had an occasional Western Tanager stop by during migration, along with a few Black-headed Grosbeaks and exactly one Bullock's Oriole (so far!).
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| A male Black-headed Grosbeak stopping by on spring migration. |
We have a huge mature pecan tree in our backyard, the waving branches of which seem to be fairly effective at combing migrant songbirds out of the sky during the spring and fall. Exciting birds like Cassin's Vireo, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and Nashville Warbler have appeared - albeit briefly - to refuel on insects gleaned from the foliage of our tree.
A few more of what I would consider my "best" backyard birds include: Rufous Hummingbirds during spring and fall migration; a flock of Pine Siskins that stayed all winter last year; a few Chipping Sparrows, two Lincoln's Sparrows, and one Spotted Towhee which showed up shortly after sunrise on New Year's Day; and a Red-breasted Sapsucker. Western Screech-owls have been heard in our yard and seen down the street; hopefully they discover the nest box soon! But the piece de resistance to date was the Peregrine Falcon I discovered at sunrise last winter, perched atop the neighbor's deodar cedar tree, devouring a crow. (Read the whole story here!)
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| Pine Siskins!! |
But I would have most certainly missed all of these birds had I not been actively looking for them! We have so many more species besides just scrub-jays and mockingbirds that share our neighborhoods. I have seen most of these birds not because our yard is anything exceptional in the way of habitat, but simply because I have stopped to look for them.
Take the time to watch your bird garden for ten minutes or so each morning. Even in an unremarkable place like my own neighborhood, you might be surprised by what you see! I certainly have been!
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| An unexpected visitor: Last winter, a pair of Scaly-breasted Munias showed up in our yard, one of the first records of this exotic species in Stanislaus County. Were these escaped pets from somewhere nearby, or did they wander over from more established wild populations along the coast? And what eventually happened to them? We may never know! |
Our yard is a work in progress, and I hope to see more birds using our garden as we add more native plants, and as our plantings grow and begin offering more in the way of food and shelter.
Click here to see the full species list for our yard.
So, you might be wondering, what's next? There are plenty of birds found in nearby habitats that might one day turn up in our yard. Here are my predictions:
Townsend's Warbler (also seen a couple blocks away)
White-breasted Nuthatch
Song, Savannah and Fox Sparrow
What additional species might I spot around our Central Valley yard?
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