oak titmouse – My Birding World

Warbler Wobble

February 11, 2020 Elizabeth Olin Comments 0 Comment

AH-CHOO!

Crap. I don’t sneeze unless it’s related to allergies. How can I be sneezing in February (insert “climate change” explanation here)? Sneezing, migraine, and vertigo settle in rendering me unable to do anything but whine on the couch. Sounds of construction overpower any chance of hearing bird activity outside, except for the occasional crow.

This goes on for a couple days when I finally throw on some shoes and risk the great outdoors of my neighborhood. I have to be careful to not swing my head around too much lest the vertigo send a not-so-subtle reminder that I can’t walk straight. “Warbler neck,” the term used to describe neck soreness after staring up into tree tops for warblers, has turned into my dizzying version called “Warbler Wobble.”

The warm, golden glow of the sun cheers me up instantly, accompanied with a chorus of bird calls claiming territories for singing love songs. The Oak Titmouse is the loudest this early evening, with Anna’s Hummingbirds, Least Goldfinches, Mourning Doves, and Yellow-rumped Warblers offering backing vocals.

I stand in one spot straining my neck to see the finches and warblers without the help of binoculars. I’m hoping that the neighbors don’t think I’m weird, although I’ve worn my “Can’t Talk Now… I’m Birding” t-shirt for good measure.

While staring up, I see a woodpecker silhouette on a telephone pole. Wow, what a lot of red! Wait, it’s a Red-breasted Sapsucker! Only the second time I’ve seen one in this neighborhood (and perhaps the same individual) over the years.

AH-CHOO!

There’s my clue that I’ve overextended my stay in the allergied outdoors. I slowly walk home absorbing all the sweet calls and delighted to see a special bird to cheer me up.

New Year’s Resolution

December 28, 2019 Elizabeth Olin Comments 0 Comment

Western Bluebird, 2019

I enjoy making goals and checking them off my “To Do” list. It’s gratifying and I feel accomplished. The ultimate feat is to stick with a New Year’s resolution and master it for an entire year. What an accomplishment!

Except, it doesn’t always work out.

We strive to eat healthier, exercise, stop swearing, lay off the sweets, and so on. Yet, we are often back to our usual routine after a month, a week, or a few days. I remember one year I resolved to regularly exercise on my own. That resolution lasted one day. I did some isometric exercises on January 1 and then quit.

Over the past several years, I’ve largely stopped with the New Year’s resolutions knowing that it can be super difficult to maintain all year. However, I recently revisited the idea of making resolutions but with a new spin – birding! In 2018, I decided that I would try to submit a birding checklist to eBird every single day (spoiler alert – I met this goal). It was amazing! I learned so much from that experience. I now know that Oak Titmice are here in the Bay Area all year, it’s just that they go quiet during certain times of the year when I thought they had left. Cedar Waxwings stick around much longer than I thought. I found birds in unlikely places, like random gas stations in the middle of nowhere on a road trip, which I birded in a panic having forgotten to do my bird list for the day during the long drive.

Accomplishing this goal wasn’t easy. Some days I really had to force myself to do a list. Weather, emotions, rushing around all presented barriers, but it was worth carving out the 10 or 15 minutes to tune into the birds.

For 2019, I decided to continue the daily birding since it felt weird not submit a checklist for each day. I also added a resolution to participate in all the monthly eBird challenges. This ranged from submitting recordings of birds, submitting multiple checklists in a single day, or tracking my birding route on a mobile device. I also did long-term challenges that included submitting over 90 checklists with sound recordings over a period of several months. I keep hoping that I’ll win a pair of binoculars for participating in the challenges, but so far, no luck. Earlier this month, I completed the final eBird challenge for December – resolution met!

What will it be for 2020? Create a carbon-free lifer list? Patch birding? Photo Big Year? I haven’t decided. What are your birding goals?

My Birding Day: Sycamore Grove Park

May 26, 2019 Elizabeth Olin Comments 0 Comment

Dark-Eyed Junco, Sycamore Grove Park, 2019

It was supposed to rain today. The dark clouds were looming overhead accompanied by chilly winds. Despite the risk of getting wet, we ventured out to Livermore to a local park – Sycamore Grove Park – in search of the rare Blue-gray Tanager. This species is native to southern Mexico through the northern section of South America. It is quite possible that this particular bird is a pet-escapee, in other words, a pet that was released (intentionally or accidentally) back into nature. Nevertheless, birders have flocked to this location to get a glimpse of this bird living its life in Livermore. We tried to locate this bird on a previous birding trip, but after six hours of hunting we gave up.

Blue-Gray Tanager, Sycamore Grove Park, 2019

We found our target bird while eating lunch. An added bonus was watching it sing briefly. Now feeling calm, I was able to really enjoy all the bird activity around me. The theme of the day was immature or recently fledged birds foraging. Lots of little ones were scurrying around, flapping their wings, constantly calling out to their parents for food. Some young birds simply perched in place, such as this Mourning Dove.

Mourning Dove, Sycamore Grove Park, 2019

Other birds were still being fed by their parents, such as this Oak Titmouse and White-breasted Nuthatch.

Oak Titmouse, Sycamore Grove Park, 2019

White-Breasted Nuthatch, Sycamore Grove Park, 2019

The Dark-eyed Juncos I watched were still young but able to forage on their own with parents nearby. They were hopping around, trying little bits of this and that to learn what’s edible or not.

Dark-Eyed Junco, Sycamore Grove Park, 2019

It was a fun afternoon with so much dense birding that we stayed by the parking lot for nearly two hours. Despite it being Memorial Weekend, this normally-busy park was empty of visitors, allowing for a peaceful birding experience.

My Birding Day: Neighborhood Walk

May 14, 2019 Elizabeth Olin Comments 0 Comment

Mourning Dove, 2015

It was cloudy and humid outside, nature preparing for a rare “late-season atmospheric river” set to hit the Bay Area. I watched a Mourning Dove in its fresh tan plumage displaying large black spots on its wings. I marveled at the metallic pink clump of feathers near its throat and a sky-blue eye ring. It was gently picking up a stick here and there, dropping the ones that didn’t met its nesting standards. The dove finally selected a long, green stick and noisily flew away from sight. I wondered if the nest will survive the upcoming storm.

A recycling truck chased me around the neighborhood for a couple of blocks, effectively cutting out my ability to bird by ear. I silently thanked the workers for doing a job that is so important for the environment but tends to be a thankless task. I turned my attention to the various flowers lining the carefully landscaped homes. Bright pinks, oranges, and purples sprouted everywhere and I was lost in the sea of colors until the recycling truck and I parted ways.

Flowers, 2019

A Lesser Goldfinch conducted a perfect imitation of an Oak Titmouse and I listed to its song for several minutes. Bushtits flocked from bush to tree to bush. My attention was grabbed by a pair of young Chestnut-backed Chickadees squeaking out a baby babble’s version of the chickadee call while furiously flapping their wings. A parent nearby was hopping on branches, poking under leaves, and clinging to house walls in search of food for its babies. The short, half hour walk ended with the sun peeking out momentarily before slipping back behind the clouds.

Succulents, 2019

Flowers, 2019

Listen Carefully: Lesser Goldfinch Songs

March 22, 2019 Elizabeth Olin Comments 0 Comment

Lesser Goldfinch, Pt. Pinole Regional Shoreline, 2015

I like to walk fast. Zip around here and there. Although when I’m birding, I’m averaging about one mile an hour. But when not birding I’m speedy.

Recently my foot has been giving me problems, and the last couple of days it’s forced me to walk around much slower than I prefer. I take it in stride and try to enjoy the new sights and sounds of an otherwise familiar area. Colors are springing up in gardens and birds are more active as they gather nesting materials and fill the air with songs.

Garden Flower, Berkeley, 2010

Yesterday I spotted a Lesser Goldfinch brightly singing in the early evening in a small tree next to a medical building. Although I was on my way home and my mind was preoccupied with throwing together dinner, I stopped and listened. Familiar dips and crunchy chips filled the air. I heard a Chestnut-backed Chickadee call, but couldn’t find the bird. I heard it again, only to realize that the goldfinch made the call! My attention completely focused on the Goldie and its singing, I heard it demonstrate two more calls: an Oak Titmouse and a Black Phoebe. I ran home and a quick Google search confirmed that Lesser Goldfinches do in fact mimic, although ornithologists are not clear why. What a delightful thing to discover, all because I had been walking slower and enjoying the experience!

My Birding Day: Del Valle Regional Park

January 27, 2019 Elizabeth Olin Comments 0 Comment

Mushroom, Del Valle RP 2019

I stood facing the bright January sun, squinting into my camera viewfinder, holding my breath. I had to get a clear shot of this titmouse. It had black on its head, I’m sure of it. The Oak Titmice we get are all grey. Click, click, click of the camera. It flies away, I keep my focus, locate it in the tangle of lichen-oak branches. Click, click, click. I’m satisfied that I got enough pictures of it for a positive ID for my checklist, I take a calmer look through my binoculars. All grey. Oak Titmouse, piercing the air with its spring songs.

Oak Titmouse, Del Valle RP 2019

It took awhile for the adrenaline to diminish from my not-so-rare titmouse photoshoot, but we had a delightful walk with lots of birding activity surrounding us. We found the remains of a deer’s leg. Knowing that mountain lions are in the park, we finished our short hike with more caution. I imagine that birds wouldn’t care about big cats. They can simply fly away.

Yellow-Billed Magpie, Del Valle RP 2019

My favorite bird at this park is the Yellow-billed Magpie. Black top and white-bellied, it has a striking yellow bill and lower eye arc. Its wings are white and deep blue, and its tail is marvelously long. I watched one for a long while, listening to it alternate between a quiet chatter to a raucous call. Once I moved out of the way, it swooped down for its prize: fish guts at the cleaning station.

It was a good day.

Yellow-Billed Magpie, Del Valle RP 2019

My Birding Day – Briones Regional Park

October 25, 2018 Elizabeth Olin Comments 0 Comment

Yesterday, I visited Briones Regional Park, which is located in the East Bay. It was the middle of the week and there was a striking absence of park visitors at the Bear Creek Staging Area. When I stepped out of the car, I was greeted with a cool, crisp breeze. A chorus of bird calls and chip notes sprang from the ground. Dark-eyed juncos, white-crowned sparrows, and golden-crowned sparrows ignored my presence as they focused their attention on finding sustenance.

The hike up Abrigo Valley Trail was unusually quiet. I hardly spotted or heard any birds except for three red-tailed hawks that were ever-present during the two-hour hike. Up, up, up I walked along the dirt trail until I reached a picnic area. I had visited this spot over the summer and found the rare indigo bunting which made itself at home amongst the luscious purple-flowered thistles that took over the landscape. The bunting was long gone, but white- and golden-crowned sparrows (which I affectionately call “crown sparrows”), lesser goldfinches, and western bluebirds danced atop the crisp, dried thistle remains. When I closed my eyes, I could hear the thistle rattle against the breeze.

Northern Flicker feather found on a previous hike, 2018. Note the red shaft (hard piece down the center) that indicates a “red-shafted” Northern Flicker.

The walk back yielded more birds – odd as it was the noon hour and general wisdom suggests that birds are more active at dusk and dawn. Fall birding is not as musical as spring birding when birds are singing for mates and announcing their territories. Instead, I had to rely on picking out slight movements in the trees, which is a difficult task when the leaves are blowing in the wind. But the patience is worth it. I saw an oak titmouse grab something fat and green and repeatedly smack it against a branch. A female Townsend’s warbler flew into my view while I watched the titmouse. I caught a bigger movement out of the corner of my eye and out popped a Nuttall’s woodpecker with crisp white lines down her back. I accidentally scattered a dozen or so dark-eyed juncos that were expertly camouflaged on the ground, flicking their diagnostic white-lined tail feathers in retreat.

Dark-Eyed Junco, “Oregon” subspecies, 2018

It was a joy to spend time watching the day-to-day activity of our local birds and be present in nature.

My Birding World

A Bird Blog by Elizabeth Olin

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