It’s time to start posting the backlog of photos I’ve gotten from generous readers. Today we have Doug Hayes from Richmond, Virginia, creator of the renowned bird series, “The Breakfast Crew” series. Here the series continues.
Doug’s notes and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.
The Breakfast Crew starts off 2024 with a gathering of most of the gang! Things had been pretty quiet in the backyard for the last month or two, but the colder weather has ended the lull with the return of some familiar birds and a couple of unusual visitors.
A tufted titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor). These little guys visit the feeders regularly:
The northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) is one of the most often seen in the yard, hanging around almost all day. They are among the first to arrive at sunrise and the last to leave in the evening:
Rainy weather brings out the red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus). Some bird watchers consider them pests, but I think they are spectacular looking. It is also very amusing to see them defending their territory from other, larger birds during breeding season. I have seen them attack and chase hawks that stray too close to their nests:
Peanut Girl, a red-bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) is back doing her thing – searching for peanuts among the other seeds in the feeder:
A male house finch (Haemorhous mexicanus). These are the most commonly seen birds at the feeders. Sometimes a dozen or more of them will show up and squabble for a spot at the feeders:
Another male (?) house finch (Haemorhous mexicanus). This guy showed up a couple of weeks ago. Unlike the other red-headed males, he has yellow-orange coloration. Apparently, male house finches’ color can range from yellow to the more common red due to fruits and seeds in their diet.
Dark-eyed juncos AKA “snowbirds” (Junco hyemalis) are common throughout the temperate regions of North America, ranging into the far north in the summer.
The azalea bush in our front yard is a favorite roosting spot for sparrows. This song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) was up bright and early and ready to head for the feeders across the street – their territory. The photo was shot through the kitchen window with the bird no more than three feet away from the camera:
This northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) decided to check out the neighborhood from the azalea bush:
I rarely see northern mockingbirds (Mimus polyglottos) at the feeders. Their territory is my neighbor’s yard across the street and sometimes our front yard. This one decided to use the azalea bush as an observation post:
Carolina wrens (Thryothorus ludovicianus) are another regular at the suet and seed feeders. They seem to be curious about everything in the yard, wandering in and out of boxes, going under tarps and have even come into the house on a couple of occassions when I left the door open:
Black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) are also frequent visitors to the feeders. Quite skittish, they will quickly grab a seed from the feeders then fly off with it to a nearby tree to eat. This one has successfully plucked the kernel from the sunflower seed between its feet:
A brown-headed nuthatch (Sitta pusilla). This is only the second time I have seen one of these. The white-breasted nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) with its black head is more common in this area:
Pine warblers (Setophaga pinus) usually stick to the more wooded areas along the river and the park system. The previous day’s heavy rains probably drove this guy out of his usual territory:
Camera info: Sony A7R5 mirrorless camera body, Sony FE 200-600 zoom lens and 1X teleconverter, ISO 1250, aperture priority, autofocus subject recognition mode set to “bird”. All shots handheld.
Great pictures! It’s nice to see several birds I would find in my neck of the woods during grad school.
Are you sure the sparrow is a Song Sparrow instead of a White-Throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)? I think the white stripes, white throat, and yellow above the eyes are characteristic of the latter (e.g. as in this post I found https://www.seasonofplenty.com/bird-virginia-song-sparrow-white-throated-sparrow/).
Google reverse image search probably got it wrong. We get song sparrows and the white-throated variety. When in doubt, I double check with Google. So much for AI!
That makes sense. I’ve lived in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama and have seen White-throated Sparrows (so the image stood out to me) in the winter but I’m not certain I’ve seen Song Sparrows (I had to google if it looked different myself).
Incidentally, White-throated Sparrows are pretty interesting because they have a chromosomal inversion polymorphism that’s implicated in various behavioral and mating differences. Even to the point that people have suggested they have “four sexes” or something but I’ve never looked into the rationale of that. I assume it’s really more akin to mating types than sexes.
What you identified as a song sparrow looks much more like a white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis). They are very common garden birds in winter in Virginia.
It’s wonderful you see all these lovely birds.
Lovely photos! Thank you!
Thank you, as always, Doug. I love the shot of Peanut Girl looking for the “good stuff”.
You get Black-capped Chickadees in Richmond? I would have thought Carolina Chickadees were the common one, but I’m no expert. Great photos regardless!
My mistake! It is a Carolina chickadee.
Have been providing black-oil sunflower seeds a ledge in front of the living room window for any birds that show. One lone dark-eyed Junco is always the very first bird of the day, but last week I had six new visitors, whom I now know from your photos to be house finches; they did all act like a group who had called in a reservation. (And not at all bothered by my two indoor cats watching intently, three inches away on the other side of the glass.)
Lovely photos!
Nice pictures. These are all the birds I grew up with! I can still hear the Red-winged Blackbirds calling when I went fishing at a nearby pond at daybreak. The are among my favorites.
Gosh, how do you get such great shots?! Each of these is a work of art. Interesting documentary too, thanks.
Nice to see the eastern varieties of the common birds that I often see in my San Francisco Bay Area back yard — with the notable exception of the cardinal, which I enjoyed seeing when I lived in Pennsylvania many years ago, especially when they were on snow. (Prior to that I lived in New York City where, as a child and young adult, I pretty much noticed only pigeons and house sparrows.)
Chickadees are not only skittish, but seem surprisingly aggressive toward one another as well. I once witnessed a fight between two of them that resulted in the claw of one stuck on the lower eyelid of the other.
They were flapping and spinning furiously on the ground like malfunctioning fireworks. I was able to carefully separate them, and both immediately flew away. While I didn’t see any damage to the one bird’s eyelid, it seemed possible that it would get infected and may even become fatal.
Any thoughts from the birders here on how injured birds fare in the wild?
Some birds seem to survive some serious injuries quite well. I used to see a goldfinch in the yard that from his drab color and bedraggled feathers was probably pretty old. He was also missing an eye that was long healed over with scar tissue. I have seen other birds that are missing toes, have damaged beaks, or are unable to use one of their legs. It can be pretty rough in the wild.
Yes, I think you’re right. I do also see birds that seem to have survived and adapted to their injuries. Most recently my wife and I often saw a crow with a wing that hung askew. We were happy to see that it eventually found a mate or friend, though both seemed to spend more time on the ground than other crows.
Thanks for another Breakfast Crew installment. The Crew look fat and healthy. I also enjoy red-wing blackbirds when they’re around- among other enjoyable traits, they have a beautiful song.
I have the majority of birds you showed in my backyard. I have a small roof outside my bedroom window and I put food out and they all come and eat. It’s so relaxing watching them. Of course I have a few squirrels that come and chase the birds away, which upsets me.
I live on the Northern Neck of Virginia and found mockingbirds and Carolina wrens enjoy dried meal worms which I hoped blue birds would fine tasty.