Wintering Songbirds

Many migratory birds make Northwest Oregon their winter home, as it usually provides sufficient food to meet their needs without having to use energy to fly further south. However, during the occasional snow or ice storms that food may be unavailable, and the birds are more likely to show up at feeders where they are also more bold, less fearful, than usual, creating some ideal situations for photography. In this and following posts I will show some examples of wintering songbird photographs from areas near our feeders.

Anna’s Hummingbird in winter

This male is sitting just a few feet from one of our hummingbird feeders. During the recent very cold weather it was necessary to bring the feeders indoors and thaw them every few hours to provide the food which otherwise froze solid. The bright colors on the head and throat usually look just black, but for brief moments the bird will move into just the right angle in the light to reveal the structural color in those feathers. The 2 images below show the challenges that hummingbirds, and others, experience in this weather.

Ice covering primroses, berries blown from the holly tree rolling on the ice

Nearby Boardman Creek shows the importance of moving water when all other water sources are solidly frozen.

Female Anna’s Hummingbird

Male Anna’s Hummingbird lurking in Camellia bush very close to feeder. This sinister expression actually portrays the bird’s intention, as it quickly drove off any other hummingbirds which approached its feeder.

Stellar’s Jay. These birds love the nuts which we tossed out on the ice.

Lesser Goldfinch in the rose garden

Goldfinch in rose garden. Probably a young American Goldfinch, but very difficult to tell from the Lesser in just this front view. Goldfinches are the commonest birds at our feeders during the snow and ice.

Townsend’s Warbler. These birds nest in higher altitude forests, but often appear at our feedrs during winter cold spells.

Townsend’s Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler. Also rarely seen in the summer in our yard, but frequently show up in winter cold.

Varied Thrush in filbert tree. Though shy in the summer, they happily approach feeders in winter.

Robin, happy to find some non-frozen berries in the Holly tree

Hermit Thrush. Also seen in our yard only in winter, though we love hearing their distant songs in the spring

Oregon Junco. Flocks enjoy the seed scattered on the ice

Golden-crowned Sparrow, feeds both at the feeders and on the ground when seeds are scattered on ice

Chestnut-backed Chickadee. Loves the suet feeders along with cousin Black-capped.

Red-breasted Sapsucker, drilling the characteristic horizontal rows of holes to harvest sap and also the insects trapped there. It also checks out the suet feeders in the cold.

More images of these birds in future journal entries. Stay tuned!