Wild Fidalgo

The Black-headed Grosbeak ( Pheucticus melanocephalus ) in the Cardinal family is one of our summer birds.  They breed in all of the western U.S. states and southern British Columbia, but spend their winters in Mexico.  Males are handsome devils, with orange breast and neck, black mask and a tortoise shell pattern on the wings and back. Melanocephalus  literally means "black headed" in Greek, but this refers specifically to the male's coloring.  Female and juvenile Black-headed Grosbeaks have paler buff undersides and white eyebrow stripes.  A thick bill is designed for cracking open seeds. They also like insects, spiders, fruits and berries.  They are one of the few birds that can feed on the Monarch Butterfly in their Mexican wintering grounds.  Monarchs accumulate noxious chemicals in their bodies from their milkweed diet that most birds avoid. Locally, these birds can be attracted to feeders with suet, safflower seed, apple slic...

Dies caniculares , the dog days of summer have provided warm, sultry temperatures to South Fidalgo Island.  After a week of hot weather, the weekend brought overcast skies and a cool down.  Activity at the two BirdCam stations brings the usual late summer pattern.  A lot of juveniles are making their debuts while summer and year-around residents are looking a bit past their prime.  In the morning twilight, an oregonus Spotted Towhee male enjoys some suet for breakfast at BirdCam Two.  In early morning and evening, I would hear calls that resembled a coach's whistle  coming from the trees.  I finally figured out it was one of the Spotted Towhee's vocalizations. A group of Chestnut-backed Chickadees is called a banditry.  These little guys are bold and energetic and their visits come with a lot of chatter.  I get dozens of them in the Madrona trees where they forage for spiders and insects. The Black-headed Grosbeak is our only...

The BirdCam catches a Townsend's Chipmunk ( Tamias townsendii ) getting a drink at the birdbath station.  He pauses to admire his reflection in the water evoking the story of Narcissus from Greek Mythology. Caravaggio [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons When Narcissus saw his reflection in a pool, he fell in love with it.  He lingered there admiring his own image until he died. My little friend is not as vain as the guy in the Greek legend, but he seems to enjoy having his picture taken.  Their photos have been captured at the BirdCam stations several times.  Townsend's Chipmunks are year-around residents on South Fidalgo and are active through the winter here.  Where winters are colder, they will hibernate in their underground burrows. Oregon State University provides some tips for attracting them to the wildlife garden.  Give them a source of water, some brush piles, rock piles, rotten logs and dense plantings for cover.  They ...

I thought I would try something different and use a birdbath as a BirdCam lure.  I got the idea from a recent post by David Lindquist at Cary BirdCam Blog .  I found a little birdbath on sale at Ace.  I thought it would look good in photos.  It also fit nicely within the depth-of-field setting on the BirdCam. When I started reviewing photos, I was taken aback to find this Eastern Gray Squirrel showing up on the first day out.  As some may know, I have been engaged in something just short of hand-to-hand combat with these invasive and  resolute feeder pests . In the end, I would only get three squirrel shots, these two and one that was blurred.  What a relief.  This is in stark contrast to the 1,200 a day I was getting with a suet lure.  As long as he is behaving himself, he will be welcome to come for a drink now and then. My very first customer was actually this Song Sparrow .  They have always been reliable BirdCam vis...

I can't help myself.  When they come to my trees, they call me , "hey Dave, come and take my picture."  They stop by almost daily now, the year around. "I think this is my best side." The scientific name of the Bald Eagle is  Haliaeetus leucocephalus  which literally means white headed sea eagle.  Note that "bald" does not mean hairless in this case.  It comes from the Middle English word ballede which refers to the white on the heads of animals.  The eagle was given this name because of its white head.

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) One of the neighborhood Bald Eagles stopped by this afternoon for a visit.  For me, this is one of the special pleasures of living in the Pacific Northwest.  Western Washington has one of the largest concentrations of Bald Eagles in the lower forty-eight United States.   According to BirdWeb , they are common breeders in the San Juans, here in the northern Puget Sound Islands and along both the north and west coasts of the Olympic Peninsula.  I believe there are nests on the small islands across the bay.  I see them heading over there after catching prey. Hunting Perch Bald Eagles and other raptors use hunting perches to spot their prey.  When you are out exploring, look for trees with bare branches at or near the top.  These will be found along the seashore, next to lakes and streams or at the edge of meadows.  Like other predators, eagles spend a lot of time just resting.  In this case, huntin...

Rufous Hummingbirds ( Salasphorus rufus ) Females The poet Robert Sund has anticipated my recent BirdCam Experience: Summer Solstice It's been a busy day. First,      one hummingbird, then another! For Allen Engle Cleared for approach Flashing her red throat spot "I'm ready for my closeup, Mr. DeMille" Then, I did some experimenting with Photoshop's special effect filters: