PFW Week 4

WOOHOO!

Check out this Varied Thrush!!

All of a sudden he came out of nowhere!!!


PFW Week 4 list:

Varied Thrush 1

Ruby crowned Kinglet 1

Red breasted Nuthatch 2

Song Sparrow 2

Bewick's Wren 1

Dark eyed (Oregon) Junco 11

Yellow Rumped Warbler 2

Western Scrub Jay 2

Black Capped Chickadee 1

Bushtits 4

Annas Hummingbird 1

House Finch 6

Lesser Goldfinch 1

Northern Flicker 1

Winter Warbler, Five Fat Squirrels, and My Snowman.

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!

This is my first full size snowman!


Check out this Townsend's Warbler!

Another photo of the Warbler.

Five fat squirrels shoving their faces in food.

Happy Holidays!

Starlings in the snow.

Raptor Quiz answer, Snowy Squirrels and of course, birds.

The answer to the Raptor quiz is....... RED TAILED HAWK! :-)

Snow snow and more snow. It just keeps coming down!


This is what we woke up to this morning.

Meet "Stanley"! our largest Squirrel.

"Stanley" again.

A Bewick's Wren on our patio.

The Park is still covered in snow.

PFW Week 3

• Lesser Goldfinch 3
  
• Black Capped Chickadee 5
  
• Ruby Crowned Kinglet 1
• Dark Eyed (Oregon) Junco 10
• Downy Woodpecker 2
• House Finch 3
• Annas Hummingbird 2
• European Starling 5
• Song Sparrow 2
• Red Breasted Nuthatch 1
• American Crow 5
• Bewick's Wren 1
• Yellow Rumped Warbler 1
• Western Scrub Jay 1
• Bushtits 15
• American Goldfinch 3
  

Winter Wildlife!

Yesterday it snowed all throughout the day and there is still snow on the ground now! We had fun and here are some pictures.

Enjoy!

See the Squirrel?

Look at all those footprints!


The Juncos, other birds and Squirrels were, and still are hanging around on the patio eating the millet and peanut pieces we put out for them. They are sheltering here until the snow lets up and the weather forecast says we are going to get more snow on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Thanks for reading,
Bye.

P.S. If you still have Hummingbirds around, make sure to keep the feeders from freezing.
Here are some useful tips about cold weather tips.
http://www.backyardbirdshop.com/

Pine Siskin update!

Well, when we got home from getting suet from the Backyard Bird Shop we got an update on the Pine Siskin from the Audubon Society.
They said that he is eating and active, but his wing is broken.

So that's good that he is doing well and staying healthy!

I guess that we will just have to wait and see how it turns out for him, and if he will be able to be released back into the wild.

Good luck little Siskin!!

Siskin goes to Audubon.

Last night, a new Pine Siskin was taken to the Audubon Society of Portland's care center.
We brought it in after I found the little guy hopping around on the ground under one of our feeders, trying to find any food possible, for he could not fly.
I ran back into the house after I figured out what was wrong and called the Audubon Society, they told us to bring the bird in.
I got a cardboard box, a piece of green silk, and some thistle seed (Nyjer). I then laid down the silk inside the box, sprinkled the seed on top of the silk and put the little guy in the box.
We got there safely with the Siskin and the guy at Audubon looked at the bird, then took him into the vet right away. He told us that there was another Siskin who had been brought in recently so they might put the two birds together!
So, the little Pine Siskin is now safe and sound at the care center, with a friend, at the Audubon Society of Portland.

Red Winged Blackbirds.

Okay, here are the pictures of the Red Winged Blackbirds that came to the yard on PFW Week 2!

Well, some more Blackbirds showed up today so I guess the wait for the ever elusive RW Blackbird is over!

PFW Week 2

Wheew!

What a count day! Check out this list! (Complete post and photos coming soon).

• Western Scrub Jay 2
• Red Breasted Nuthatch 2
• Black Capped Chickadee 3
• House Finch 4
• Dark Eyed (Oregon) Junco 6
• Bewick's Wren 1
• Song Sparrow 2
• Annas Hummingbird 1
• Spotted Towhee 2
• American Crow 1
• American Goldfinch 3
• Northern Flicker 1
• Downy Woodpecker 2
• Pine Siskin 15
• Bushtits 62
• Red Winged Blackbird 26
• European Starling 1

Raptor Quiz and Koll Wetlands

Okay, here is the quiz. What are these two Raptors?
Be sure to leave a comment with your answer.

Now, while you're finding the quiz out here is some action from Koll Wetlands.

This is a panoramic photo from the rock table that is there.

A Song Sparrow by the water.

Mallards going in the water.

When I reached the bank of the pond I accidentally scared away this Green Heron.
Can you see him?

Great Blue Heron and Mallards.

Great Egret and Common Mergansers.

Great Egret.

Common Mergansers.

Great Blue Heron where the Otters were.

Northern Shovelers, Common Mergansers, Double Crested Cormorants, Ring Necked Ducks and Mallards.

Hawks Hawks and more Hawks!

What is it with Hawks lately?
We have had two visits from Coopers Hawks and one from the Sharp Shinned Hawk recently.
Plus I was reading that Seth and Michelle from Portland Oregon Backyard Birds have had 40 or so visits from their local Sharpie, and I think two from the Coopers!
Is it always like this?
I have not yet been through the full cycle of Northwest birds yet so I don't know if it's just an easy meal because there are so many birds in winter? I don't know yet but as soon as summer comes I should know :-)

Sharped Shinned Hawk.

This morning we woke up to a Sharp Shinned Hawk on our fence.
He went down on the ground Where the Sparrows roost. Then all of a sudden he spotted a Junco and attacked it. With swift moves the Junco darted over to a nearby tree. But the hawk was not done yet. He then Lunged himself at the Junco. Again with Swift Moves the Junco Escaped, (NICE JOB JUNCO!!!!!!! WELL DONE!!!!!!!). Then our Biggest ( probably around five pounds or so) Squirrel climbed up on the fence. I was going to get video of the Junco's escape, but my sister RAN over to the sliding glass door as fast as she could and scared away the hawk. ( I assured her that a little 10 inch Sharpie was less likely to fly off with a five pound squirrel then the hoard of birds on the patio right in front of him, not to mention the escape against one of our local Red Tailed Hawks the Squirrel had Back in October). "But I didn't want "Stanley" to get eaten".
Okay it just means more birds on the Patio :-)



P.S. Hope you don't wake up to this happening :-)

Have a good day and happy birding!

Project Feeder Watch!

I just got done with the first two days of Project Feeder Watch!
Here is my list.

American Goldfinch: 7
Spotted Towhee: 2
Dark Eyed ("Oregon") Junco: 22
Song Sparrow: 4
Red Breasted Nuthatch: 3
House Finch: 5
Anna's Hummingbird: 3
Western Scrub Jay: 2
Black Capped Chickadee: 3
Downy Woodpecker: 2
Lesser Goldfinch: 3
Bewick's Wren: 1
Northern Flicker: 1
Pine Siskin: 1
Bushtits: 34

Time spent watching: 1-4 Hours.

Tualatin River NWR

Here are some pictures from our trip to Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge back in September.

We started here at the new nature center, (which they did a very good job on) and then went on the trail.

This turned out as a nice picture of the river.

On our way back to the car we stumbled upon this little guy.

HaHa its good to have a hybrid in Oregon.

Bird list for that day:

• Western Scrub Jay
• Stellers Jay
• Black Capped Chickadee
• Red Breasted Nuthatch
• Canada Geese
• American Goldfinch
• Mystery Bird
• Red Tailed Hawk
• Bewick's Wren.
  

Long lost Blackbirds!

Finally! When I went on a walk in Greenway park I saw a big flock of Red Winged Blackbirds!
I haven't seen a single Red Winged Blackbird since before we bought our house!
They were perched up in a tree making their "coonkaree" sound to each other. I was beginning to think that back in June was the last time I was going to see one of those guys, but thankfully not!

Things have been pretty much the same in our yard, but the birds like the Squirrel Buster Mini so much that I have to fill it up almost every day! By about 10:00 AM, the feeder is picked clean by all the birds, (not the squirrels)!

Perfect timing on the Project Feeder Watch people's part. I just got my forms in today and on starting day too.

Have good, happy birding and if you signed up for PFW have a good time!
Bye.

Aaah the good life of a birder...

Aaah yes the yard is teeming with birds once again, Nuthatches, cute little Chickadees including those adorable, tiny little Chestnut backed Chickadees, Woodpeckers, Brown Creepers, the long lineup of winter Sparrows, Juncos, Kinglets, Bushtits, Towhees, Hummingbirds, first time new arrival a Yellow r....Hey! AAARG! you have got to be kidding!!



November backyard bird count as of Nov. 4:

1) American crow
2) American Goldfinch
3) Brown Creeper
4) Black Capped Chickadee
5) Chestnut Backed Chickadee
6) Scrub Jay
7) Gull (FO)
8) Coopers hawk
9) Downy Woodpecker
10) Hairy Woodpecker
11) Ruby Crowned Kinglet
12) Red Breasted Nuthatch
13) Bushtits
14) Spotted Towhee
15) Song sparrow
16) Bewick's Wren
17) Golden Crowned Sparrow
18) Junco
19) House Finch
20) Purple Finch
21) Lesser Goldfinch
22) Yellow Rumped Warbler
23) Canada Goose (FO)
24) Northern Flicker
25) Pine Siskin
26) Fox Sparrow
27) Anna's Hummingbird

P.S. I didn't see some of these birds until I got the Brome Squirrel Buster Mini for Only $26.99! Thanks Backyard Bird Shop!!!!!
Bye.

Great October Bird Count

• 1) Black-Capped Chickadee
• 2) Scrub Jay
• 3) Steller’s Jay
• 4) Red breasted nuthatch
• 5) Bewick’s wren
• 6) Dark eyed junco
• 7) House finch
• 8) Purple finch
• 9) Bushtits
• 10) American goldfinch
• 11) Mourning dove
• 12) Lesser goldfinch
• 13) Anna’s hummingbird
• 14) Spotted towhee
• 15) Song sparrow
• 16) White crowned sparrow
• 17) American crow
• 18) Red tailed hawk (FO)
• 19) Northern flicker
• 20) American robin
• 21) Downy woodpecker
• 22) Hairy woodpecker
• 23) Common raven
• 24) Cedar waxwing
• 25) House wren
• 26) Tree swallow
• 27) Canada goose (FO)
• 28) Mallard (FO)
• 29) House sparrow
• 30) Wood duck (FO)
• 31) Pigeon (FO)
• 32) Great blue heron (FO)
• 33) Pine siskin
• 34) Coopers hawk (FO)
• 35) Chestnut-backed chickadee
• 36) Belted kingfisher
• 37) Osprey (FO)
• 38) Golden crowned sparrow
• 39) Mountain chickadee
• 40) Brown Creeper
• 41) Ruby Crowned Kinglet
• 42) Nashville Warbler

GOBC fun!

WOW! What Fun!!
Thanks Northwest Nature Nut for hosting the Great Bird Count of October! It was really fun counting all the birds and making new backyard and blogger friends! Are you doing this next year?

Thanks to everybody else for keeping me entertained all the way through October with your bird lists. I was checking almost every day to see what birds you were seeing at your house.
It was great fun and I don't want it to be over.

Well, I signed up for Project Feeder Watch and it looks fun so I will be occupied with that :-)

When we wait for the PFW good luck and good birding.
Cheers!

My Owl Jack-o-Lantern

Here's my jack-o-lantern for this year. I wanted to do an owl because of the owl I love to see in Greenway Park.

Coopers hops in chimney at Chapman!

Here is a a video of the Vaux swift migration at Chapman Elementary School in September.

It was a cloudy, gloomy evening as the swifts gathered outside.
The people started coming as well as the Audubon society of Portland for the swift watch.

Some of the swifts started going in the chimney a little early which was a little unusual, (I think their timing got a little thrown off by the bad weather). Despite the weather there was still plenty of birds.

There was a few Peregrine falcons flying about but not much pursuit.

All of a sudden as the swifts got to full force in came an adult Coopers Hawk!
He just sat there perched on the chimney waiting very patiently for a meal.
After awhile, all of a sudden he hopped down in the chimney and amazingly we got it on video!

Here it is,
Enjoy!

Lots of Pine Siskins continued

Here is some video of our first Pine Siskin!

Lots of change on the greenway trail.

After seeing Chickadees, Nuthatches, Hummingbirds, Pine Siskins, Goldfinches, Bushtits, Towhees, Downy Woodpeckers, a Flicker, Purple finches, House finches, Jays, Crows, Juncos, Song sparrows, Golden Crowned Sparrows, The occasional flock of Geese and even our first ever Brown creeper, we went on a walk on the Greenway trail. Here are some pictures from our walk.

A big yellow tree by the Fanno Farmhouse.

Just a pretty red tree

An abandoned beaver dam.

This is a blurry photo of a Great Blue Heron we saw.

Lots of Pine Siskins

There where a bunch of Pine Siskins Wednesday morning!
They were everywhere, in fact there must have been over 20 of them in the yard at the same time! It was a big surprise because we never got any Siskins at all, we just got lots and lots of Goldfinches every day.

I did manage to get one of them on video Tuesday and that is coming soon.
In the meantime good luck on the GBCO and good birding :-)

More Photos

Bushtits enjoying some suet.

Some Goldfinches eating lunch

Backyard Photos

Here are a couple of backyard bird photos! Click for larger image.

Spotted Towhee on the platform feeder.


Purple Finch (?) and Oregon Junco.

More photos coming soon!

oaks bottom wildlife refuge.

Hi,

Welcome to the first post of Beaverton Bird Blog!
This first post is about my birding trip to Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge in Portland.

Enjoy!

I saw CHESTNUT BACKED CHICKADEES! as well as black capped chickadees, A Song Sparrow, an Anna's hummingbird, (well, heard it at least :) ) and the place is infested with woolly bear caterpillars and red squirrels!
Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me at the time so I couldn't take any pictures.

Oh well. Anyway thanks for reading the first post of Beaverton Bird Blog.

Happy birding!