Cooler Mornings

The last two mornings it's been in the 30's, not freezing yet but getting close. The nights are clear, lots of moonlight and stars. I'm imagining that birds are starting to migrate, knowing that the moon and stars will help guide their internal navigation. I know they can migrate in any conditions, although stormy conditions do tend  to veer them off course. So these sunny days and cool mornings, clear nights and stars, are part of our last fling of summer, but for the birds, it's probably a signal to leave. We still see a number of juncos, immature white-crowned sparrows and an occasional mature white-crowned, and they will eventually disappear. We are grateful for our steady faithful customers, chickadees of both kinds, gray jays, and Steller jays. Magpies are coming around a bit more this time of year than earlier in the summer. Of course, the cute little nuthatches. And an occasional Myrtle warbler, more likely immature than mature. A redpoll or two. On the Kenai River flats the other day, we spotted a long-tailed jaeger. Also some shorebirds, not sure what they were, now that their breeding plumage is gone, plus probably we're seeing immatures as well. We think they were Hudsonian godwits. The season is changing.

Return Home

We've been away for a few days. While we were away, we saw hummingbirds, black phoebes, sharp-shinned hawks, bushtits, and various other species. Back home, this morning, immediately were greeted by magpies, gray jays, nuthatches, chickadees, a flock of pine siskins, and possibly some crossbills, a flock of somethings that I didn't get a good look at. Our familiar birds are great to see again. The amount of visitors in our backyard is definitely smaller than before we left. End of summer. Sigh.

Another Hawk Sighting

Yesterday afternoon, mid-to-late afternoon, we saw a Sharp-shinned hawk sitting on the dead willow in the middle of the backyard. He was much larger, the chest feathers were more cream and orangey, and when he flew away, his back was more slate-blue/gray, than the hawk we saw two days ago. We decided, especially because of the size difference, that the earlier hawk we saw must have been an immature Sharpie.

Heard a report of black brants and long-tailed jaegers seen on friends' trip to the Brooks Range. We occasionally see long-tailed jaegers on the Kenai River Flats but have not seen any this summer. They are incredibly swift hunters. Black brants are not on my life list yet, I would love to be in the right place to see one of those.

A Tidy Diner

This afternoon, I watched as a chickadee flew up to our window, teetered on one string of the netting, and poked his head up against the glass and picked off a miniscule bit of peanut butter that was stuck to the glass.

Immediately under the eaves over that window, we've rigged a little peanut butter feeding station. It's set up to be high and inaccessible to squirrels, and a little too close to the eaves to allow the bigger birds such as magpies, to eat the peanut butter. The Steller's Jays and gray jays are able to get to it, of course, as well as all the smaller birds. Some of the jays are messy eaters and the peanut butter occasionally flies off and lands on the window glass.

Our windows around the house, the ones with no screens, are "screened" with gillnetting, which we stretch tight over the glass and attach on tiny nails along the window frames. The netting breaks up the reflection and we have fewer bird-glass collisions as a result.

Earlier this afternoon, we saw two golden-crowned kinglets do their quick visit, check the birdbath, take off to parts unknown. We would love to get a better look at them, but they are extremely "flighty." So to speak.

Watching like a Hawk

This afternoon, I happened to walk to the kitchen window and glanced out. The sharp-shinned hawk who visited our yard earlier today, had taken up residence on the birdbath and was sitting there, about 10 feet from our window. He stayed there for about 25 minutes, turning his head 180+degrees to look at birds flying behind him. His breast faced the window, and I stared at him with binoculars for most of the 25 minutes. The sun was out and it was slightly breezy, so he was somewhat less easily seen because of the wind-rippled grasses. And of course, his coloration made him practically disappear into the log legs of the tripod. However, the birds in the backyard were giving their peeping warning call. They did eventually forget about him, and flew in to the feeders, and a couple of times, would venture out to the birdbath but then would see him and veer back. After he stretched his legs, and his wings a couple of times, and waited patiently, he finally took off.

Two Against One

This morning two Steller's Jays took on a sharp-shinned hawk. All of them flying around the trees, landing, watching, starting over again. As the jays seemed to taunt the hawk, they also came in for peanuts. They seem fearless. Other birds in the backyard did their warning calls, which have a different pitch and intensity than the warning or scolding calls for a cat prowling. The hawk is browner and breast is more mottled than when we saw a sharpie about 3-4 months ago.

Nuthatches

I wrote several days ago that I rarely saw a nuthatch take a bath. Then later that same day, my husband told me that he had seen one bathing. This morning I saw one bathe. Once in a year is rare, I suppose. Or maybe it was the same one, bathing twice. Personally, I'm glad to know they are not hydrophobic.