Thank Ceiling Cat that readers are sending in photos again. I actually have one batch in reserve!
Today’s photos come from UC Davis ecologist Susan Harrison, highlighting the Birds of Fall. Don’t miss the lovely Wood Ducks at the end. Susan’s captions and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.
Fall (bird) colors
As the season has gone rapidly from golden to gray in Ashland, Oregon, my most exciting bird experience was the flock of Gray-crowned Rosy-finches (Leucosticte tephrocotis) gracing the summit of Mt. Ashland (7,500’). These remarkable little birds live in alpine zones, where in spring and summer they hunt insects trapped in snowfields. As winter approaches they move down in search of seeds and fruits, while still sticking to cold and open environments. Mt. Ashland with its tiny expanse of near-alpine vegetation is an occasional stopover for them.
Seeing 30+ of them at “Mt. A” was already a thrill, but even more significantly to local birders, this flock was a mix of two geographic forms (subspecies, to some): “Brown-cheeked,” found in the interior western US, and “Hepburn’s” with its all-gray face, which is more coastal and northerly. These birds are evidently not fussy about the migratory company they keep.
Two Brown-cheeked (first two) and two Hepburn’s Gray-crowned (last two) Rosy-finches:
Morning view of Mt. Shasta, seen while searching for Rosy-finches:
The second best recent sighting I had was of Varied Thrushes (Ixorius naevius) eating the last few pears on our neighbor’s trees. These lovely birds always make me think of an American Robin with an upgraded trim package. Unusual numbers of forest seed- and fruit-eating birds have been on the move this fall, looking for winter resources, and Varied Thrushes may be part of this “irruption”.
Varied Thrush:
Varied Thrushes, converted from a not-sharp-enough photo to an Impressionist work by ChatGPT:
During my early morning Varied Thrush – pear tree stakeout, many other birds stopped by.
Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus):
California Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma californica):
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula):
Spotted Towhee (Pipilio maculatus):
At this time of year, maple-surrounded ponds with Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa) are the go-to places for saturated colors.
Wood Ducks in Lithia Park:
