Tagged With: Songbirds

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

Photograph taken on Monday, September 23, 2024 by Henry
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

Cathy and I drove to Pine Nursery Park this morning and walked around it. It’s a fairly large park with softball and soccer fields, a disk golf course, pickleball and volleyball courts, as well as a small pond and the Forest Supervisor’s office for the Dwschutes National Forest. The pickleball courts were full with folks from a league playing in a round-robin tournament of some sort. We enjoyed the birds throughout the park and near the pond I was able to get a few nice photos of this adult, male red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus). He was one of a large number making a pretty good racket. The pickleball players were making a racket, as well.

Categories: Creatures | Tags: , , , , | Comments Off on Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)

Photograph taken on Monday, September 23, 2024 by Henry
Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)

Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)

In the late morning Cathy and I drove to Pilot Butte. We had come up here with Brian and Lisa the other day I I tried to get a photo of where they lived but I just missed it. Having consulted a map, I wanted to try again. After doing that, Cathy and I walked a little way down the trail that climbs the butte. We saw this Steller’s jay (Cyanocitta stelleri), moving from the ground, up into a tree, and then back onto the ground again. We also saw a hummingbird of some sort perched on a branch. Google says it’s an Anna’s (Calypte anna) but my photo isn’t quite sharp enough to be able to identify it conclusively. But I’m pretty pleased with this shot of the jay.

Categories: Creatures | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)

Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)

Photograph taken on Sunday, November 03, 2024 by Henry
Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)

Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)

As mentioned in the previous post, we went to the Rachel Carson Conservation Area this afternoon. We walked a fairly long loop, in a counterclockwise direction. The section down by the Hawlings River is our favorite part, along with the boulders in the previous post. I carried my long lens but we didn’t see much to photograph with that. Towards the end of the walk, though, we came across this hermit thrush (Catharus guttatus) who would move a little bit further down the trail as we got close and I was able to get near enough to get a pretty decent photo.

Categories: Creatures | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)

Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)

Photograph taken on Saturday, December 21, 2024 by Henry
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)

Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)

We went for a short walk on the trails below Croyden Creek Nature Center today. There wasn’t a lot to be seen but it was still really good to be outdoors. Life has been a bit stressful lately and walking in the woods, particularly where there is water nearby, is good for us. This was the only bird we saw on the walk that I was anywhere near close enough to get a photograph. I did take a few of birds (goldfinches) on the feeders at the nature center, as well, but those didn’t turn out as well. This is our common, northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos).

Categories: Creatures | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)

White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)

Photograph taken on Friday, December 27, 2024 by Henry
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)

White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)

We decided to go to Great Falls today. It’s probably the most interesting part of the C&O Canal that’s close enough to get to easily and since we don’t have to pay to get in (because we have an America The Beautiful, lifetime senior pass) the fee isn’t an impediment. After walking out to Olmsted Island, as per usual, we went downstream to Widewater. We saw a great blue heron and I got a few nice pictures of that, but since I posted on just a little while ago (and that’s a better picture than I got today anyway), I’m going with this nice shot of a white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis). This is a familiar bird, best known for its distinctive “Poor Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody” song.

Categories: Creatures | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)

Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)

Photograph taken on Sunday, March 09, 2025 by Henry
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)

Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)

As mentioned in the previous post, we went to Croyden Creek this afternoon. After our walk, on which we saw the woodpecker, we returned to the nature center, where we had parked. I took a few pictures of birds around the feeders there. That included a northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos), a few dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis), and this tufted titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor). This photo makes him look more blue than gray, but either way, it’s a cute little bird that is hear year round and is often heard repeating Peter-Peter.

Categories: Creatures | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)

Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Photograph taken on Sunday, June 01, 2025 by Henry
Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

We went to the Agricultural History Farm Park today and, among other things, we saw a lot of eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis). We also saw a couple song sparrows (Melospiza melodia), European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), a mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos), and an eastern kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus). Not bad for a short visit. The photos of the bluebirds turned out quite well, I think showing off their colors really nicely. This is probably out best place to go to see those, although we’ve seen them even in our neighborhood.

Categories: Creatures | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)