We are in the winter range of the white-crowned sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys. At various times of the year it is found over nearly all of the North American continent. This deep-bellied, deep-chested, broad-necked sparrow is a very rare vagrant to western Europe. In 2008, one was spotted in Cley next the Sea in Norfolk, England. To commemorate the event, an image of the bird was included in a window at St Margaret’s Church.
Killdeer get their name from one of their most common calls, a shrill, wailing “kill-deer”. They are shorebirds that nest away from water. Like most (all?) plovers, they lay their eggs in a shallow scrape in somewhat exposed areas, even on gravel rooftops. They will deploy a broken-wing display to lead predators away from their nests. However, this doesn’t stop horses or cows from stepping on their eggs. To deter these large hoofed animals, a killdeer will try an “ungulate display”, fluffing itself up, splaying its tail over its head, and running at the beast to attempt to make it change its path. Sadly, this tactic is often fatal for the bird.
We recently saw the return of Yellow-rumped warblers to our yard. They breed in the northern parts of the continent and come south in the non-breeding season.
Males have conspicuous yellow patches on the crown, flank, and rump (the latter giving rise to the nickname “butter butt” among birdwatchers). Their Latin name means “crowned moth-eater”, though they eat plenty of other insect species, as well as spiders.
Happy to see them back!
White-breasted nuthatches (Sitta carolinensis) eat insects and large, meaty seeds. They get their common name from their habit of jamming nuts and acorns into tree bark, then whacking them with their sharp bill to “hatch” out the seed from the inside. They nest in holes in trees (either created naturally or excavated by woodpeckers) and are most commonly found in deciduous woodland. I was very happy to meet this one today.
It’s been a long while since we had a bird collision. The shelf outside the kitchen window, complete with tall plants, was doing the trick. But yesterday a black-headed grosbeak flew into a gap in the foliage and crashed. The saddest part was that we had only just seen her at the bird bath a day or two before — grosbeaks are not common visitors here. So freaking sad.
The great horned owl (Bubo virginianus), also known as the hoot owl, is a large raptor native to the Americas. We often hear them at night, and sometimes see them. They eat “almost any living creature that walks, crawls, flies, or swims, except the large mammals.”1 In fact over 500 species have been identified as great horned owl prey.
1Lee, Carol. “Powerful feet and talons help birds of prey make their living”. Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
Exciting times here today! I don’t know what the prey was, but the predator was very impressive!
This handsome, clever, bossy corvid has been absent from our garden for a few months, but is back this week. California (formerly “Western”) Scrub-Jays are not migratory, so I’m not sure where ours have been hanging out of late. I’m guessing they were raising a brood on a neighbouring property.
Studies show that scrub-jays are among the most intelligent of animals. The brain-to-body mass ratio of adult scrub-jays rivals that of chimpanzees and cetaceans, and is dwarfed only by that of humans. Welcome back, smartypants!
The Western Snowy Plover nests on open sand, so it’s extremely vulnerable to human impacts, both direct and indirect. For example, the kelp that is washed ashore is browsed upon by many insects and crustaceans. These invertebrates are a primary food source for plovers and other shore birds, so “cleaning up” the wrack removes a key element in the food chain. A more indirect impact: the population explosion of crows and ravens — caused by the abundant food sources offered by humans — has greatly multiplied a major plover predator.
At current counts, there are less than 2500 Western Snowy Plovers throughout their coastal range (a population of 3000 is the minimum goal) and their habitat continues to shrink. So if you see a cable fence on your local beach, be sure to stay out of the nesting zone to give these vulnerable (and adorable) birds a chance to breed and thrive.
Thanks to Kriss Neuman of Point Blue Conservation Science for a fascinating lesson. Thanks to John Muir Laws for his drawing tips.
hashiworks 