Lbbs? Not exactly.

 Backyard birding ...

A sunny afternoon, almost spring. The lawn is green, the flower beds and veggie garden still bare. Seedling pots laid out, with seed packets promising summer goodies. Under the shrubbery, scuffling through last year's leaves, pecking at loose soil, gathering seeds tossed by the homeowner, the lbbs (little brown birds) are celebrating. Bouncing, hopping, scratching, chattering. They take turns at the birdbath. Some call from the trees overhead. Hummingbirds zip here and there, perch momentarily on the tips of bare branches, zip away again.

We sit on the far side, under the deck. When we stand, the birds melt into the shrubbery, waiting silently until we sit down again.

The camera sees better than my old eyes do. They're all lbbs until I see the photos on the computer screen. Then they become white-crowned, gold-crowned, fox sparrows, juncos. Then the colours show up; green, red, gold.

House finch?

Glittery green Anna's hummingbird female.

It almost looks like she's standing on air.

Fox sparrow and junco.

This one has an orange head and throat.

Three lbbs. Fox sparrow, junco, house sparrow?

The fox sparrow's "breast is heavily streaked with inverted 'V's; ... and the lower mandible is yellowish."

Golden-crowned sparrow.

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Pájaros en el jardín ...

Es una tarde asoleada, a principios de la primavera. El césped está verde, los jardines — flores y verduras — siguen desnudos. Macetitas ya sembradas, con sus paquetes respectivos anunciando las delicias prometidas para el verano. Bajo los arbustos, revolviendo las hojas muertas del año pasado, picando la tierra suelta, juntando las semillas ofrecidas por el dueño de la casa, los pajaritos (LBBs, los llamamos en inglés; pajaritos cafés) celebran el dia. Saltan, brincan, rebotan, parloteando constantemente. Toman su turno en el baño o llaman desde lo alto de un árbol. Los colibríes van y vienen, se paran por un momento en el mero punto de una rama, vuelven al aire y desaparecen.

Nosotros nos sentamos debajo de la terraza, al lado opuesto del césped. Cuando nos paramos, los pájaros se esconden entre los arbustos, y se mantienen en silencio hasta que nos sentamos de vuelta.

La cámara ve mejor que mis ojos viejos. Todos los pájaros son LBBs hasta que los miro en la pantalla de mi computadora; entonces resultan ser gorriones de cabeza blanca, de cabeza dorada, zorruno, o juncos. Entonces aparecen los colores: rojo, verde, amarillo ...

Fotos: 

1. Carpodaco doméstico, creo.
2. Colibrí Anna, hembra
3. Parece estar parada en el aire.
4. Gorrión zorruno y junco.
5. Este tiene la cabeza anaranjada.
6. Tres LBBs. El gorrión zorruno (Passerella iliaca) "tiene el pecho marcado con formas de V invertidas ... y el pico inferior es amarillo."
7. Gorrión de cabeza dorada.

Just birds.

Backyard inventory: the usual visitors. Sometimes we forget to notice these; just another little brown bird, just another robin. And those starlings! What a nuisance, gobbling down all the suet!

How blind we can be at times!

Birdbath, with starlings and garden angel.

Another bath, this one with a robin.

Sparrow looking over the selection of peanuts.

Towhee and peanut tray.

Varied thrush are shy birds. I came one step closer and he left and didn't come back.

Golden-crowned sparrow.

That downy woodpecker again. Not a regular. I liked the pattern of the busy wings.

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Casi no los vemos a veces; los pájaros "normales', los que siempre visitan nuestros jardines familiares. Otro gorrión, decimos, otro petirrojo. Nada especial. ¡Y esos estorninos! ¡Son una plaga; se comen toda el sebo y no dejan nada para los otros!

A veces parece que estamos ciegos.

Aquí, unos de esos pájaros que pasamos por alto.

1. El baño de pájaros con estorninos.
2. Otro baño, este con un petirrojo.
3. Un gorrión contemplando la charola de los cacahuates.
4. Un rascador (toquí).
5. Un zorzal pinto. Estos pájaros son muy tímidos. Apenas di un paso más, y voló. Y no regresó.
6. Otro gorrión, este con la corona dorada.
7. El pajarito carpintero otra vez. Una visita insólita. Me gustó como se ven las alas en movimiento.
8. 
   

Birding at a distance

It was a day for small birds, birds that usually are hidden behind the leaves. And for a few big birds, 'way off in the distance, so they were essentially little birds, according to my eyes and camera.

A kingfisher! Not only did he park not too far away, but he stayed there while I took enough photos to get one more or less in focus.

A young robin, all speckly.

Zooming in on him. It's 8 below zero, Celsius. How these tiny critters keep from freezing is a never-ending wonder. I'm wearing long johns, layers of warm clothes, gloves, a tuque and a hood and I'm still cold.

A little green-winged teal. Poor photo, but I'm glad I got it; I haven't seen one of these for several years.

A sparrow on the frozen path beside the river.

Usually the little brown birds flit around in the undergrowth; on this frozen afternoon, sparrows and robins and towhees came out to the path, where the sunshine sort of softened the frozen ground.

One of a flock of golden-crowned sparrows.

And the bigger birds, looking small:

Mallards sleeping in the sun. The white stuff on the island behind them is ice.

An eagle, as I usually see them; a white spot at the top of an evergreen.

Birds, birds, birds. All too far away. Right to left: a flying duck, a bufflehead, several small flocks of diving ducks, probably buffleheads, a Cessna, and an eagle. And what looks like two waiters on stilts carrying trays of goodies.

Photos I took that wouldn't even have qualified for the Worst Bird Photograph page: a V of honking Canada geese, towhees against the light, and a pair of diving common mergansers, another bird I haven't been seeing for some time.

At Comox Harbour

Waiting for an 8 AM float plane.

King of the Harbour strut

Sparrow on a landscaped evergreen

And another sparrow.

Outside the Harbour Air office, there were several of these short, dense pines. On one of them, a flock of small sparrows foraged. On none of the other, identical trees were there any birds at all. I couldn't see any difference; I wonder what the sparrows were finding on this tree, and no other.

Anchored and tethered. In the calm water behind the docks.

And a sparrow in a plum tree

On the first day of Christmas, Ma Nature gave to me ... softly falling snow, four happy juncos, three refilled feeders, two chickadee-dees, and a sparrow in the plum tree.

"Yum! Suet!"

One of the juncos waiting his turn.

That sparrow again.

And still more birds

Wherever we went in Mazatlan, there were birds. Lifers, as often as not. Sometimes I managed to take photos with whatever camera was on hand; sometimes, laden down with purchases, big floppy hat that kept blowing off, maps and sunglasses (on again, off again, depending on the shade I kept hiding in), by the time I'd scrabbled through my bags and dug out the camera, either the birds or my vehicle of the moment had moved on. The trials of a tourist!

And sometimes, even when I was prepared and had the time, I only heard the birds and couldn't see them. Picture an oldish lady in a wide-rimmed, black hat, roasting in blazing sunlight on a cobblestone street. See her, camera ready, staring up into a tree, dodging the occasional car, returning again to stare into the branches. And then, reluctantly, turning off the camera and trudging on. Picture the bemused or amused glances of residents passing by. Tourists!

Some birds I recognized, even with brief glances; violet-green swallows, sparrows, a goldfinch, common rock pigeons, the great-tailed grackle (like our crow, in behaviour and colour, but longer and bluer.) Some looked familiar at first glance, but then were subtly different from those I'm used to.

There was another bird hanging around the edge of the rocks with me while I watched surfbirds, a pale brown, almost featurless peep. The camera refused to focus, choosing rather the darker rocks right behind it. I think, from memory, that it was probably a willet.

House sparrows. Although, if the back one is a female, her beak should be yellowish.

The great-tailed grackle. Male; the females are smaller, and dark brown. 

When the light hits them just right, they shine in iridescent blues and purples.

Male grackles on a roof ridge, displaying for the females. Lots of competition here!

Territorial “ruff-out” displays of erected feathers, fanned tail, and bill held skyward may erupt into wrestling matches, with competing males locking talons and rolling on the ground. (Cornell)

This was another lifer: the boat-billed flycatcher.

Boat-billed flycatcher, Megarynchus pitangua, with nest. A shy bird; one camera click, and she ducked down out of sight.

The back and tail are brown. There is a yellow patch on top of the head, only visible at certain angles.

The great Kiskadee is an almost identical bird, also present in the area. But it has a reputation for being bold and noisy; these ones were wary of humans and quick to hide, so I think they're b-b flycatchers. As always, I could be wrong.

Another shy bird.

Some sort of woodpecker*. Photo lightened up considerably; she was hiding in deep shade. For the next photo, she ducked behind the branch and only showed the top of her head.
*Update: Gila Woodpecker Melanerpes uropygialis

Very bad photo of a brilliant little bird. I think he might be a male Vermilion Flycatcher.

And of course, there are always common city pigeons.

One on the beach

Hundreds in a tree. Zocalo, Antigua Mazatlan.

I want to go back.

Out on their own

... but not quite grown up yet. Sparrow chicks, New Westminster Quay

House sparrow, eating grass and weeds growing between the paving stones.

Still wearing his baby feathers.

A white-crowned sparrow chick, still fluffy.

White crowned sparrow chick ...

... waits not-so-patiently as Mamma takes a refreshing bath.

She's been working hard, with three hungry mouths to feed.

Crowned heads

Our juncos have gone north for the summer, but the crowned sparrows have arrived to take their place. Today there were a dozen or so white-crowns in my garden:

Adult sparrow, whether male or female, only they know. Not a sage, whatever the sign says, although s/he's wearing  a thoughtful look.

They like my flower pots.

Bath time.

"Are you still watching?"

The few Golden-crowned sparrows are more elusive ...

Even a wire fence helps to hide. At least, it confuses the camera.

Caught dashing across the cement, to check out the crumbs from the chickadee feeder.

The eyebrow markings are solid black, without the white stripe of the white-crowned sparrow.

Another pair behind the "fence".

From Cornell, "All About Birds":

White-crowned Sparrow
Adult:

• Bold black and white head stripes
• Clean gray throat and breast
• Gray face and nape
• Pink or orangish bill

Adult Pacific form has:

• Brown sides and flanks
• Yellowish bill

And,

Golden-crowned sparrow
Adult Description

• Large sparrow, small songbird.
• Yellow crown, bordered by black.
• Gray face and chest.
• White wingbars.
• Back brown with black stripes.
• Long tail.