Winter Birds Still Here

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Other commitments and bad weather stopped us from going out to do any birding over the weekend. However, spending more time at home meant I had a chance to see what winter birds are still around our yards.

The number of American Goldfinches is well down now, with only the occasional visitor. The few birds that do show up are now starting to show brighter plumage.

We continue to have a couple of Orange-crowned Warblers. The first of our winter visitors to show up, they are usually among the last to leave.

Now that the number of birds at our feeders has started to drop, we're seeing more of our Ruby-crowned Kinglet. He generally avoids coming when there are lots of other birds about, and if he shows up when the Orange-crowned Warbler is present, the latter usually chases him off.

There has been a small flock of Cedar Waxwings in our area for weeks, although they rarely come to our yard. However, some 80 settled in our oak tree on Friday along with a few American Robins. I wasn't able to get a photo of the Waxwings but one of the Robins flew down to the roof of our shed for a while.

The most numerous of our winter residents are Chipping Sparrows.

 At least a few of these charming little birds come to our feeders every day, and every so often a flock of a dozen or more turns up.

While we've been disappointed not to see any Brown-headed Nuthatches,  Tufted Titmice of Rufous Hummingbirds at our feeders this year, we have been pleased to see that an Eastern Phoebe has moved onto our street and makes occasional visits to our yards.

We've also been pleased to see that most of our year-round residents are visiting regularly again. But let me leave them until my next post.
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