As expected, springtime has been an excellent time for some backyard bird watching. We really got lucky last Saturday when the wind held still and we had lots of outdoor chores. We added mallards (flying by our yard), barn swallows (I love seeing them eat insects in the air and watching their acrobatics), a grackle (Desert Boy and I couldn't agree on which species), a bullock's oriole (pictured above--a wonderfully colorful bird that I had Desert Boy figure out), a house sparrow (not very exciting, but the first time this year we saw one in the yard), Brewer's blackbird (their relative red-winged blackbirds are near, but still not seen or heard in the yard), broad-tailed hummingbird (so fun to hear fly over), western kingbird (a true sign of summer), and yellow-rumped warbler (a favorite). We're up to 29, with a goal of 50 for the Desert Survivor Backyard Bird Challenge.
Both Desert Boy and Desert Girl are getting better at identifying the common birds, and some just by sound. I'm hoping we can go to some bird events this summer to fuel their fun.
What are you seeing in your backyard?
2 comments:
Oh, the oriole is beautiful! We have a family of them down at my school. At home, we have a visiting family of grosbeaks.
Cheryl Ann
I love grosbeaks! I don't get to see them often.
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