Spring officially arrives in three days but you wouldn't know it based on the recent snowstorm. One advantage of backyard birding in the winter is that you may get some birds that don't normally visit during the other months of the year.
Cassin's Finch (Haemorhous cassinii)
The Cassin's Finch is a high-altitude breeder. Although some of these birds migrate south in the winter, others just go down to a lower altitude during the snowy winter. We were lucky to have 7 of these beauties in our yard this week. Notice the males have bright red heads with a pink wash on the unstreaked chest. You may be saying to yourself, I get those birds at my feeders all year round but you may have this one mistaken for...
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)
...the Hollywood Finch. What? This west coast bird was introduced to the east coast in pet trading in the early 1940's. They were named "Hollywood Finches" to increase their allure. However, this industry wasn't legal and birds were released from cages in New York. These highly adaptable birds have now spread across the US and they frequent our birdfeeders regularly through the year. For an entertaining article on the topic, go to https://www.audubon.org/news/the-house-finch. If you look closely, the chest is streaked with a red versus pink wash. Although their most basic coloring is red, some will be varying shades of orange based on their diet.
While lots of people "flocked" to our mountains to sled and to build snowmen, I went down to Garner Valley in search of birds that will never visit my yard. (Of course, you should never say "never". There's always the chance of a surprise.) BTW, isn't that the most creative snowman you've ever seen?
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)
Here is where I found song duels between the meadowlarks. Their song carries across grassland for such a long way. Whenever I try to find this songster, it's always much further away than it sounds.
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
I also found a wintering Merlin, resident American Kestrels, and this majestic Red-tailed Hawk hunting from its perch. Like I mentioned earlier, never say "never" since surprises may show up....
Mountain Chickadee (Poecile gambeli viridi)
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Click on photos to enlarge.
Photos and content by Robin Roberts.
