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Birds
of Oak Ridge Road
 This
is just the beginning... obviously there are more birds up here
than this! However, Lone
Pine Publishing has kindly given us permission to use a few
of the gorgeous illustrations from Birds of Northern California.
This is a wonderful book‚ with a full page devoted to each
species, a convenient color-coding system, and territory maps. And
best of all, they've weeded out the birds you'd never see here!
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Click
on the small pictures below to see larger versions. Use
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Acorn
Woodpecker
Melanerpes
formicivorus
Common
on the road, the acorn woodpecker is easily identified
by its swooping flight, displaying flashes of white
on the wings, and its raucous "laugh". Acorn
woodpeckers are gregarious, living in communal family
groups of 14 or more. The family group members all help
to raise the young, in rotating shifts, and protect
their feeding territory.
Acorn woodpeckers gather acorns in the fall and store
them in holes drilled into bark or dead wood. You may
have seen one of their larders— hundreds of acorns
stuffed into row after row of holes! In addition, they
have the most incredibly long tongues— they can
easily reach through the bars of the squirrel cage on
our feeder!
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Chestnut-backed
Chickadee
Poecile
rufescens
The
chestnut-backed chickadee is a common, year-round resident
here, making one member of the fairly continuous flock
of mixed small birds at our feeder. Despite their diminutive
size, they are perky and cheeky— often perching
on the feeder even while it is being filled. Besides
seeds, they also eat insects, larvae, spiders and other
invertebrates.
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Red-breasted
Nuthatch
Sitta
canadesis
Another
frequent visitor to the feeder, the red-breasted nuthatch
also probes under bark for insects while walking headfirst
down branches and tree trunks. This nuthatch is easily
recognized by its sleek form, rusty tummy, and elegant
black racing stripe through the eye.
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Spotted
Towhee
Pipilo
maculatus
According
to the books, the spotted towhee is a year-round resident,
though I have only seen them in the spring and summer.
They are ground feeders— frequently making so much
noise scratching and rustling in the fallen leaves that
you would assume a much larger animal was at work. (They
do have a slightly larger cousin, the brown towhee.)
Besides feeding on the ground, spotted towhees nest
on or near the ground. While rebuilding the fence for
my garden, Kim found a spotted towhee nest in hollow
log. Check out his pictures!
Until
recently, the spotted towhee was grouped together with
the Eastern Towhee, and collectively known as the Rufous-sided
Towhee, because of the red patches on their sides. (Rufous
means red in Latin.) .
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Varied
Thrush
Ixoreus
naevius
This
is a very beautiful bird I had never seen or heard of
until three years ago. They are about the size and shape
of a robin, with orange and mauve colorings. They are,
apparently, uncommon or irregular visitors from September
through late March. They also are ground feeders, foraging
in the fallen leaves for insects, acorns, seeds, and
berries. They are extremely shy.
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| Illustrations
above from "Birds of Northern California" by David Fix
and Andy Bezner, ©
2000
Lone Pine Publishing, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Reprinted
with permission. |
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More birds to come soon... I'm busy trying to take photos.
Did you know— they can tell when they're being
watched, even through a long lens?
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Anna's
Hummingbird
Calypte
anna
The
Anna's hummingbird is a year-round resident on
the road. With his iridescent red head, the male
is really striking. The female, shown, has just
a small patch of reddish pink on her throat. This
one was stunned by hitting the window, but luckily
perked up and flew off a few minutes later.
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©
Oak Ridge Road Association
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