The intent of this post’s title is to suggest that the birds
I am about to describe are not usually seen at Blue Jay Barrens. This Wilson’s Snipe made me open my bird
field guide to the section on shorebirds, a part of the book that is rarely
needed to identify birds attracted to my dry, upland habitat. I was working in the vegetable garden when
this individual made a nearly vertical descent from the sky and landed among
the Indian Grass stubble in the mowed field.
If the snipe was expecting wetland, it must have been
thoroughly disappointed by the dryness of the field. After turning from side to side for about a
minute, it took off. Hopefully, its next
stop was more to its liking.
Most of my bird observations occur at the feeder. In the past I’ve taken long walks around the
property specifically looking for birds.
Often, moving a few hundred feet from the house takes me into a birdless
void that ends only when I again get close to the yard. Flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds have been
moving in and out during the last few weeks.
This individual with the distinctive white patch at the back of the head
was around for several days.
I’m used to observing the same birds for periods spanning
months. There are the usual year round
residents, the summer visitors, and the winter visitors. Occasionally, something out of the ordinary
shows up.
Goldfinches and House Finches visit the feeder in large flocks. Taking some time to sort through the flock
can result in the discovery of a few surprises.
Thirty years ago, Purple Finches were regular winter
visitors and visited the feeder in large flocks. In recent years, I’ve not seen more than two
or three pairs of this species in any winter season.
Back then, any reddish finch was most likely a Purple
Finch. I never expected anything else.
Then the first House Finches showed up. Now the House Finch is the default choice
when catching a glimpse of a reddish finch.
This year, another bird has joined the Goldfinch flock. A casual glance can easily miss the similarly
colored Pine Siskin foraging alongside the Goldfinches.
It’s not uncommon for Pine Siskins to flock with
Goldfinches, but I don’t see them here very often. This year I’ve counted five in a flock of
about 40 Goldfinches. It’s always
interesting to have an uncommon species turn up, but I think I get more
satisfaction out of observing the common species making daily progress through
their yearly cycle.
