For the Birds

We are true bird-lovers around here. This interest was instilled in me very early in my life. As a child I was taught to love and appreciate animals and nature by my "naturalist" parents. A birdfeeder was placed outside our kitchen window every winter and I always loved to eat my breakfast in the company of the Steller's Jays, Juncos, and the occasional Rufous-sided Towhee. I also had early exposure to the beauty of birds of prey when my brother raised and trained hawks and falcons in our backyard. He even gave me two baby hawks for my birthday one year! So when I took Zoology in high school taught by the infamous Mr. Webb, I had a natural affinity for the unit on birds - which included plenty of birdwatching. Wes also took this class, was similarly inspired and hence we've adopted the hobby of birdwatching together. The kids have definitely caught on and they are getting pretty good at identifying the local birds.

Continuing the tradition, we have put up a birdfeeder the last couple of winters and it has provided great entertainment and learning experiences for our family. I printed off a "Field Checklist of the Birds of Utah" (this type of checklist can be found on the internet for any area), placed a pair of binoculars and a Field Guide to Birds book next to the window, and we have started keeping track of the birds we've seen and identified as a family. Here are several of our "backyard bird sightings" (most photos are from the internet because mine didn't turn out very well):

The most common -
Oregon Junco

Black-capped Chickadee

White-breasted Nuthatch

House Finch

Scrub Jay

Black-billed Magpie (These birds are prolific around my neighborhood. They have a reputation of being very pesky but are still one of my favorites. I think their coloring is stunning!)

A few less common birds (which makes it more exciting when we spot them)
Northern Flicker (This bird is gorgeous and quite large - about a foot long. I took a picture of it next to a Junco for scale. Member of the woodpecker family.)


Downy Woodpecker (Also a delightful bird. Much smaller than the Nothern Flicker but has a similar bright red marking)

Steller's Jay (Same family as the Scrub Jay but with a fancy black crest on its head)

Spotted Towhee (we used to call this the Rufous-sided Towhee)

I've saved the best for last: Western Screech Owl. This was so out of the ordinary to see this bird because it is nocturnal. But some magpies must have chased it out of its nest and they were pestering it from tree to tree through our backyard. I grabbed the camera and tried to take some pictures but they didn't turn out too great and I ended up scaring it away. It was one of the coolest bird sightings I have ever experienced! The Screech Owl is very small - about 8 inches long. The first picture is the one I took - you can just barely see the silhouette of the little owl with its ear tufts that look like horns.


There's still a couple months of winter left! Put some seeds out and see what birds come to visit. It generally takes birds about a week to discover a feeder and there might not be too many at first, but if you do it year after year - the birds will remember and return.