Neon Pink Head: a Male Anna's Hummingbird

In winter, the temperature sometimes goes down below freezing here.  Now the flowers are all gone.

Other times it just rains.  In between, some patches of blue sky peak through the fast moving clouds like this morning.

Here is some good news for you:  Two Anna's hummers were drinking the sugar water without fussing.

"We are just pretending not to mind each other, 'cause this sugar water is too good to waste time with fighting."


Then,  the third one appeared. 

"I am a NEON PINK head...  I am a super good looking, supersonic bird."

"Just look at my beautiful mask!!!"

Ruby-crowned Kinglet's Rare Visit

These days the day time is getting shorter everyday until the Winter Equinox, Dec 21.    I have been waiting for that day because from that day onwards, the day will instead get longer for my photo opportunities.

Today, another rainy day,  when I returned home around 2:00 pm from my errand, it was already getting dark outside.   As I looked into the backyard, I noticed something little was moving rapidly. 

Aha, maybe a kinglet.... 

"I'm catching little hidden bugs underneath the rose leaves!!  It's hard to find a bug in deep winter, you know." 

"Now on a viburnum bush.  Any bug around here?"

 

 

"Now ready for home.  I may return to this hunting ground.  Ta, ta."

My Best Bird Friend - Anna's Hummingbird

 

There are at least two Anna's Hummingbirds feeding in my backyard this winter.  I can tell whether one is female or male.  That's as far as I can tell about the hummers.

 

Can you tell if this is female or male?

 

There is one female who always hangs around on my clothesline waiting for me to come out.  Lately she likes to sit around in the blueberry bush which has already lost most of the leaves.

Outside I walk slowly so not to scare the birds, gradually getting closer to the hummer.  Often she lets me come as close as 4-5 feet to take a photo like this.  

 "What's up?  Late this morning.  I've been waiting for you to show up."


Backyard Owner:  "Yeah, yeah.  I've so busy with Thanksgiving dinner prep.  Baking pies, casseroles, and the turkey with mashed potatoes, gravy sauce, etc.  A Super busy season!!   But I don't forget you and just changed your sugar water this morning.  Enjoy your fresh sugar water."

 

A Smarty Pants, American Crow

An American Crow is much smarter than we think.  The other day I found an interesting article on the National Wildlife Federation's magazine.

 This article said that studies at UW in Seattle showed that American Crows could recognize the people's faces.  During the studies,  the researchers wore assorted masks and recorded how the crows behaved.   Later when the crows spotted a person wearing the mask worn during the banding process, they formed small mobs and scolded that person severely.

Amazingly even seven years afterwards, the crows clung to the memory and those born afterwards without actually experiencing the banding recognize the notorious face (the old ones must have taught young ones).  In addition, they can also recognize the faces associated with a good behaviour such as offering food. 

Wow, I have to behave good!!!  You, too.

" That's why I remember you and your backyard."

"It's nice to be at a safe ground."

Backyard Owner:  "I pledge to be good everytime you and your buddies are around.  I only feed birds and take pictures.  No harm."

A Typical Wet November

Thanksgiving will be next Thursday.  Everyone is busy trying to get ready for the dinner.   I'm mostly done with the grocery shopping and today I baked a pumpkin pie. 

Outside is a typical dark and rainy day in western Oregon.  But a viburnum blossom began to bloom again.

Every morning birds are busiest with their breakfast, even in the rain.

Golden-crowned Sparrow:  "My early Thanksgiving message:  Thank you for letting me get full whenever I stop by."

Oregon Junco:  "My message:  Uum, no more rain drops?  Thank you for no more rain for a minute for easy eating."


Everyone is already wishing for a dry, sunny day.

Dinasaurs and Birds: Any Relation?

Over the weekend, I stopped by at a Natural History Museum in Seattle.  As I looked through the exhibits, one of them just hit me:  One small and fast dinosaur (Compsognathus) that existed on insects and small reptiles was a relative of the oldest known bird (Archaeopteryx). 

So now I know birds existed on the earth far longer than humans have.   I feel more respect towards them!!!  I am more willing to help them with what I can do.

Anna's Hummingbird:  " This sugar water is safe to drink.  No food coloring in it."

 

A flock of Pine Siskins:  "This water is so tasty because the backyard owner does not use chlorine to clean the bird bath."

Oregon Junco and Chestnut-backed Chickadee:
"We like the peanut-flavored suet for the winter energy."

Gray Squirrel:  "I am not a bird, but I can agree with you.  You have been helpful to me, too, 'cause this apple is delicious with no pesticides."

A Frequent Flyer for Winter

A few days ago when I was out on the backyard lawn, a young Cooper's Hawk flew in.

All the little birds flew out from the fruit tree branches, saying "chi, chi, chi..."

At that time I was dressed in black and stood still on the lawn.  After a few minutes, it came out into the steel hanger for the feeder and hopped onto the wooden fence nearby.

Guess what to do when you meet a hawk face to face.





Keep the eye contact (looking thru the camera lens in my case) so that it would stare back at me, wondering what I would do next.    This is the chance for me to take a few shots. 

"I am one of the scariest birds in the sky!  How dare you not be afraid of me!"

This winter, this young Cooper's Hawk frequents the sky above my neighborhood.

A Flock of Pine Siskins - A Finch Family

Once the cold weather returns here, so do the Pine Siskins from their summer home in Alaska and Canada.

For a couple of weeks, I have seen them flying in a flock of a dozen or two.  They like to eat seeds at my feeders.

Three brothers:  "He eats there, you eat here, and then how about me?"

Pine Siskin has a pointed beak and a prominent streaking. 

And if you see the yellow at base of tail, you will be sure he/she is one of them.

Back to Winter Sugar Drink - Anna's Hummingbird

 

Our weather is already cold, but my Anna's Hummingbird, all year around resident, comes here everyday.

 

Now that most of the summer flowers are gone, she now tries the feeder often.

 

"My backyard owner makes a delicious sugar drink!"

 

I make my own with water and sugar only.  NEVER, EVER use the red colored pre-mix.  It can make the hummers sick.

A Scary Tale - A Young Cooper's Hawk

The neighbor's huge Japanese maple has a variety of colors from green, yellow, and red.

 

But my short Japanese Lacey maple is ready to drop the pretty yellow and red leaves now.

Only a few days after the Halloween (10/31),  today was still cloudy and dark.  People are still a kind of scared after watching all those scary movies.   A perfect setting for another scary scene in my backyard.


Amongst the pear tree branches loaded with yellow colored leaves, I saw something moving.  Maybe a squirrel having fun?  Right then,  came out the feathers of a big bird....

Then it jumped onto a steel framed hanger for a bird feeder.  Thump...          

That big bird was a young Cooper's Hawk.  It turned the head to the right,

and to the left, scanning the background with a plenty of time.

Then, it moved the wings and tail feathers as if he wanted to act like a Dracula:  "Have I really frightened you all to death?   I see no one here."

"Oh, well, I shouldn't have done this Dracula pose!"

A Message from a Mourning Dove

From a Mourning Dove: 

"Since my backyard owner mixed up on identifying me earlier, I need to let you know how to find me by one more characteristic."

 

 

"It's my pointed tail.   All the other doves in Western North America do not have this fancy point in the tail!  Just remember it."