Anna's Hummingbird

Anna's Hummingbird

Calypte anna 

Kept seeing this hummingbird couple in May in my backyard. They sure love that honeysuckle. Plus I think our small pond attracts them. 

Traits Include:

• Male has Iridescent pink/reddish feather on throat/head
• Green and Gray body.
• Female is all gray and green.

Locations:

Female drinking from honeysuckle..while sitting on a small branch..

And here is the male, in flight...

Here he is again, drinking from the honeysuckle nectar....

Hooded Oriole

Hooded Oriole

Icterus cucullatus 

I spotted this couple two years in a row now, in early summer time. The male is a bright yellow/orange color, while the female is, of course, a paler yellow. They're always around my loquat tree. And this year, I  actually spotted them taking a bath in the birdbath. 


Traits include:

•  Long tail and body. 
•  Long bill
•  Male: Bright yellow/orange body, with black bib, wings and tail.
•  Female: Pale Yellow, with gray wings. 

Location:

This is the Male...

Can you spot the bird? ;^]

And this is the female...

Western (Pacific-Slope) Flycatcher

Western (Pacific-Slope) Flycatcher

Empidonax difficilis  

This guy just started showing up in my backyard. He was always alone. His behavior reminded me of a Black Phoebe, who also is a flycatcher He's always pretty easy to spot, mostly from is eyes, the white eye ring makes his eyes look quite large. 

Also, being a flycatcher, you'll see him sitting and suddenly flying in the air and returning to his spot. In doing that, he is catching flies.

Traits Include:

• Yellow belly and throat.
• Olive-brown back. 
• White eye ring.

Location:

 

The western flycatcher is actually two species. The Pacific-Slope and The Cordilleran. Pretty much the only difference between them, is the location where they are found.

The pacific slope is found along the coast, while the Cordilleran, is found in the Rockies. 

Birding Journal

Birding Journal

I'm back! Sorry for not posting anything new in a while...I've been working on a birding journal. For a while now, I've been looking for a birding journal to  keep track of my life list. Store after store, site after site, I've turned up empty. Fed up, I decided to make my own (with the help of my mom;]).

Here's a few pictures....

I was quite pleased with how it turned out, so I decided to put it up on my Etsy shop: ( click on picture bellow).

  

Feel free to check it out if your interested. I also sell plain Fauxdori notebooks and Insert PDF templates. 

                             

Allen's Hummingbird

Allen's Hummingbird

Selasphorus sasin

These tiny cuties are always flying around in the backyard. I have seen many of them nest in one of our orange trees, they always scold us when we walk past the tree. 

Traits Include: 

• Incredibly small in size
• Mostly rust colored, with white peeping through on belly
• Males have an orange throat and greenish back

Location:

 

This is the Female...

I Can't figure out if this fluffy little thing is a female or an immature or both.

Finally we have the Male...with his very bright orange throat..

 

Lesser Goldfinch

Lesser Goldfinch 

Spinus psaltria 

I spotted this guy in my backyard. Never seen one before. He got pretty close to me, but I was too slow to get a super close up shot of him unfortunately.  

Traits Include:

• Males are a bright yellow.
• Black forehead.
• Black to dark green back.   
• Very small size (smaller than the American goldfinch. 

Locations:

 He wasn't the most cooperative bird i'm afraid...

A little camera shy perhaps..

 

Yellow-rumped (Audubon's) Warbler

Yellow-rumped (Audubon's) Warbler

Setophaga coronata 

Spotted one in my backyard and one at El Dorado Park...
They can also be referred to as the Audubon's warbler. These is another type of yellow-rumped warbler that is referred to as the Myrtle warbler..which has a white throat instead of a yellow one.  

Traits include: 

•  Males have a yellow crown, rump, shoulder patch, and throat.
•  Grey head and back. 

Location:

 

This one was in my backyard..hopping around..

And this guy was sitting in the shade at the park...just chillin...

White Crowned Sparrow

White Crowned Sparrow

Zonotrichia leucophrys 

One of these little fellas was spotted at the Bolsa Chica Wetlands, and the other in my backyard. 

Traits include:

• Black and white striped crown
• Yellowish, pink bill
• Grey breast

Location:

  

This is the cutie hanging out in my backyard

And this guy was at the wetlands

 

Black-Crowned Night Heron

Black-Crowned Night Heron

Nycticorax nycticorax

These two were found at a large pond in El Dorado Park.

Traits include:

• Adults have a black crown and back. 
• White below and gray wings
• They are a bit stout 
• Immature has a brown and white pattern.   

Locations:

This is an average adult 

Close up shot

And this is what an immature one looks like

Clark's Nutcracker

Clark's Nutcracker

Nucifraga columbiana 

This guy was spotted Near Mammoth, Ca. Mistaken as a woodpecker by Lewis and Clark, this rascal pecks at nuts and cones. 

Traits include:

• Light gray body and black wings and tail
• Long bill
• Usually seen in coniferous forests near tree line.
• Similar personality to crows.    

Location: