June 6, 2023

The Hooded orioles have been here now for a couple months. Usually they are very shy at the birdbath but this one splashed about for over 30 seconds! Must have had a hot date later that day LOL

A male oriole, the yellow feathers really glowing in the sun.

A slight chill in the air - Autumn is here

 Fall is a time for a change in some of the birds we see. The Orioles are long gone (left by early September), hummingbirds are still here. The Anna's, Allen's, and Costa's hummingbirds stay all year long adding color and cuteness to the backyard!

One of the birds we had the pleasure of meeting this year was a Greater roadrunner! Quite the character.

 

 

 

We also get somewhat regular visits from Cooper's hawks. Usually when one shows up, all the other birds head for the hills until the hawk leaves.

More hummingbirds to come, I have been neglecting the blog for too long!

A good time to post an update - Spring birds are here!

 This Pandemic has made for an odd 13 months. Fortunately there are birds to keep us company! Here are a few of the birds showing up in our yard over the last month, some for the first time since last summer.

It is mid April, Spring is in full swing and the birds are coming to visit!

The blog title is Hummingbirds and Orioles - but I get a little off topic depending on who shows up ;-)

We'll start with a male Allen's hummingbird - he is looking very sharp in his fine brown, red, and green. Allen's and Anna's hummingbirds are here year round - much to our pleasure!

A viewing hint for those who might not know - click on an image to see a large view!

The Hooded orioles have just recently arrived from their winter hangout in Mexico. They are so entertaining once several show up and get playful! First is a young male - noted by his dark gray but not quite black bib and his pale yellow and light gray coloring.

Next - an adult male Hoodie in full color (bright yellow/orange with black and white). He seems to be deciding whether to go for the grape jelly - spoiler - he did!

Another favorite backyard bird is the California Scrub jay. Very vocal, friendly, and has a big taste for mealworms!

Back at the jelly feeder, a Northern mockingbird has become very fond of the grape jelly as well! It seems to be singing its praise in this photo :-)

Also just showing up - this male Black-headed grosbeak. I think this is quite an over the shoulder 'come hither' look! Probably using it on a nearby female grosbeak ;-)

Still another bird just arriving from a winter home in western Mexico - a Lazuli bunting. I call him Mr Lazuli and I have been waiting since the end of last summer for his return.

Still with wings - but a little off topic (I warned about that!), the first pale swallowtail butterfly this season! We will also get Western Tiger swallowtails. Hint: it pays to plant a nice butterfly/pollinator garden ;-) We also have a year round population of Monarch butterflies that visit. The Spring/Summer numbers are bigger than over the winter. 

Back to the feathered friends - this is a juvenile Cooper's hawk, could be a juvenile Sharp-shinned hawk, I'm not positive. The young ones are harder to ID, so sometimes I just say a Shooper (combination of Sharp-shinned and Cooper's)  ;-) We have a few of both species that will stop by the yard in hopes of a quick meal. Fortunately, for the smaller birds, the hawks miss most of the time. 

Thanks to all that stop by and peek 👀 at the various visitors we get!

A long step away from the blog

Has it really been 3 years?? Life happens - and for the last 6 months, Covid happens! Fortunately it has stayed away from our household, I hope all of you have been safe. The normal routine is not so normal anymore. Fortunately, many of the regular birds have been very regular. A welcomed constant to the changing world.

This has been an Oriole and Hummingbird blog from the start and they have been constant companions in our backyard - well, the hummingbirds are constant. The Hooded orioles, of course, are migratory but have been returning every year in pretty good numbers. This year we have around ten orioles - between the adults and juveniles. And as playful as ever.

Here are a couple photos of the Hooded orioles over the last couple months. They are such a pleasure to see as they arrive in March and stay through August - oh my, just realizing this is now August and I only have a few more weeks of their company 😞 

The adult males are so striking in their bright yellow with the dark black bib!

Here are a couple hummingbirds snacking. These are both Anna's hummingbirds, and both adult males with their dark gorgets (special throat feathers) that reflect brilliant colors when the light angle is right.

Some of the other yard birds that have been stopping by - male Black-headed grosbeak, a Dark-eyed junco who is fond of mealworms. Juncos usually are just here over winter, but a couple resisted the urge to fly north for the summer. Mr lazuli, as we call him - a Lazuli bunting. A favorite visitor over the summer. what great colors! the second photo is most recent and he is in the middle of a molt so he looks a little scruffy - still adorable though! And a Nuttal's woodpecker! A fairly rare visitor to the yard, but can be heard pecking on the nearby avocado trees, especially in the morning.

I'll finish off with a couple larger birds seen from the yard. First is a Sharp-shinned hawk! The smaller birds do not appreciate when Sharpie or Cooper (Cooper's hawk) drop by looking for a quick snack. next is a Red-shouldered hawk. This was just after a rain and it was enjoying the sun to dry out its feathers, putting on quite a display. And largest of the birds that land in the yard - a Red-tailed hawk. There are a couple that make our neighborhood home, quite impressive. The smaller birds don't pay them much mind as birds are not really on their diet.

Here is a short video of a Black phoebe who has been a regular for a week.

Thanks to those stopping by to see a little of the birdlife that we enjoy in Southern California.

Where has the time gone??

So this entry is a little past due :-) At least the webcam views keep updating!

July 26, 2017 - middle of the HOT HOT summer!

Note: I see that an encrypted/secure page viewing is available at
https://hummingbirdsandoriolesinsd.blogspot.com - if anyone is interested ;-)
Also Google says notice of google cookies is required, especially for the European visitors - so there it is...

Update - a few more summer birds added to the end!

Even though it is not evident by the postings lately, it has been a good summer for birds in our Southern California backyard. We have a very nice returning group of Hooded Orioles that did a great job of rearing families. I believe we have 5 adult pairs and hard to count the juveniles. It never gets boring watching and hearing them playing and chasing!

Here are a couple captures from one of the webcams.

We should have a solid month left before the males  begin to leave followed a bit later by the females as they head back to points east/south for the winter.

After a hard day of play, a cool refreshing bath is in order ;-)

 We've had several Blackheaded Grosbeaks join us this summer and I believe we got at least a couple offspring!

This little Blackchinned Hummingbird prefers this roosting spot near his favorite feeder, easy to  guard it from there! Other hummers include Anna's, Allen's, Costa's at the moment. Mostly Anna's, as they do not migrate and there is a steady local population.

 We are very excited about our California Scrub Jays this year. (They just were re-designated from Western Scrub Jay) We had a couple beginning last year, but late this spring we suspected youngsters - and we got at least four! So much fun watching them, though their appetite for mealworms is draining our checkbook ;-)

A new bird for us this year - a Greater Roadrunner has been coming to visit. Mixed feelings about this bird, it has been snacking on our hummingbirds! I understand that is Nature, but I don't have to like it. I am pretty sure there are two adult Roadrunners, because a month or so ago we saw what we are pretty sure was a juvenile RR, so now there are three. Though we have only seen two at a time, and mostly just one.

Hmmm, NOT a hummingbird or Oriole! In fact, when this guy showed up - other birds were few and far between ;-) Possibly a young Cooper's hawk, seems a little big - but too small for a red-tailed or red-shoulder, both of which we have in the area - but they don't often sit on the fence!

A young Kingbird, I think - maybe Cassin's.

Scaly breasted munia, Nutmeg mannikin, Spice Finch in the pet trade. Becoming naturalized in California because so many have escaped or been released.

Other birds visiting our backyard this year (photos to follow) - Spotted towhee, Dark-eyed Junco, California Towhee, Lesser Finches.

As a point of interest - though I have not been keeping receipts - our sugar water usage is about average for us and right around 2 gallons a day. Still buying 25 pound bags every couple weeks!

Thanks for stopping by, I'll try to be a little more consistent in my updates!

Nearing the End of August - September update

It's the middle of September, we've had hot spells and just got some unusual September rain!
The orioles are still here, last year they were all gone a week earlier. Although, I have not seen an adult Hooded Oriole for several weeks now. I am pretty confident that the remaining birds are adult females and their young. Have not been able to tell if the young males have left with the adult males.

Quite a dinnertime rush at the feeders this early eve, here are a couple photos.

 Here is a new bird type for me, have not been able to ID it yet, the black rimmed white breast feathers should be a big clue!

It's August 23rd, over due for a new post with what's new birdwatching in the backyard!

Some general thoughts of the summer so far -

Where are the honeybees?? By this time of the summer, I usually worry about the bees running off the hooded orioles by virtue of the bee clogging up the feeders that the orioles prefer. Most feeders designed for the hummingbirds are fairly bee proof. But this summer I have been able to convert a few hummer only feeders to oriole feeders by removing the small opening inserts leaving large openings that the orioles can use. This is good for the orioles, but I worry about the lack of bees and the service they provide to our crops. The photo shows the modified feeder, the darker red areas around the opening are where the 'flower' inserts were removed revealing a large opening. Bees could easily climb in, but no bees.

We have had a generous amount of rain over the summer, reminiscent of years past when we actually got rain (a little, anyway!). And the temps seem to have been a bit more mild, especially in August - though we had a couple of shots of HOT!

I saw pretty good evidence of a 'Brood Parasite' this summer. The phenomenon is most illustrated by the cuckoo, when the female cuckoo seeks out a nest of another bird species with eggs. The mom cuckoo will lay one of her eggs in the nest of the other bird (often removing one of the original eggs). She then leaves the other mom to do all of the raising of the mixed family. Often, the 'adopted' bird is larger than the host birds - to their detriment. In my case, the 'adopted' bird is a brown headed cowbird and was very likely left in a hooded oriole nest. The young cowbird and young orioles (and female adult orioles) are quite similar in coloring and size. The cowbird are seed eaters and so the beaks are more robust than the orioles. You can see the young cowbird begging for food, but the adult male is ignoring it.

I think it has been an above average summer for the orioles, probably average for the hummers, lesser finches, mourning doves. No rabbits this year, a couple of squirrels mooching on the birdseed.

Still having a bit of June Gloom this far into August (morning low clouds/fog keeping temps down around the inland valleys) so this morning as I sat outside checking feeders, photos are a little dull.

There seemed to be quite a morning feeding frenzy going on so I grabbed the cam and took these shots within 30 seconds, all of different feeder positions but there are several of the same kinds.

 

The lesser finch station

I counted 52 hummers between all photos, a pretty good rush and there were others perched in trees and bushes around. Lots of Anna's, of course, quite a few Blackchins and I think I saw a Roufous.

I believe there is only a couple of weeks before the orioles leave for parts south and east - their winter haunts, oh well , it has been a great summer for them - I'll miss them when they leave!