Deck Birds, May 13, 2013: Part 1

Monday was a pretty blah day around the Aerie. It started out bloody cold with the deck thermometer registering 29 degrees and, while it warmed up a bit afterwards, it never got very warm--or sunny, and spit snow from time to time. The bird feeders got a pretty good workout as a result. While the numbers of birds at any given time have dropped due to migration and/or nesting duties, the variety still remains. On any given day I could gather a list of 20-25 species while looking out the window or standing on the deck. Not all of them come in to feed, of course. Robins, towhees, crows, ravens, vultures and the like either stay out in the yard or are merely passing by out in the ether.

I decided to snap a few pictures Monday morning to document some of the birds that do come up on the deck. The windows have recently been pelted by sleet, snow and rain and I've not cleaned them yet, but still, the photos seem to have come out pretty well.

I'll put these in two posts because there are a lot of them and that might slow the loading process.

Part 1: Chipping Sparrows, American Goldfinch and Blue Jay

Chipping Sparrows are the smallest of the sparrows but what they lack in size they more than make up for in energy and volume. They are constantly on the move searching for seeds on bare soil and in the lawn. They can contest a good hunting ground with the best of them and you can see some pretty good aerial dogfights among rivals for a good patch of turf. They're steady--and loud--trill in the early morning light can be confused with a Dark-eyed Junco but is ever so slightly faster, higher in pitch and louder.

 Chipping Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow

One of the magnificent gems of the bird world, the male American Goldfinch's transformation from olive drab to bright, bright yellow marks the beginning of spring. The only problem with them is the little whiney tilt at the end of their lilting song. Otherwise, they'd make lovely caged singers.

American Goldfinch

 American Goldfinch

The bullies of the yard are the Blue Jays. They will chase/scare all other birds off the feeders with either their size or noise. Some have learned to imitate the calls of hawks to frighten the little birds even more. They rob nests of eggs and hatchlings but eat their fair share of caterpillars and bugs. Their bright blue plumage is present even in the deep days of winter when everything and everybody is much more drab.