I have seen 29 birds in my yard since November 2006. However, there are just a few photos below. As time goes on and especially as Sally gets more familiar with the camera, we hope to add photos of most of the birds we see.
Please e-mail me at the address below if you would want to be on my e-mail list of announcement and discussion of birds seen in the current year either in Forest Park or my Dogtown back yard feeding center.
| | |
The Eurasian tree sparrows are special birds which appear in Dogtown and very few other places in St. Louis and virtually nowhere else in the U.S.
I tend to refer to them as the white-faced sparrows because of the large white circle on the face. They have a russet head and black neck. Lovely, lovely bird.
In the book BIRDS OF ST. LOUIS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM (published in 1998 by the Webster Groves Nature Study Society) we read: "The Eurasian Tree Sparrow is a unique resident of the St. Louis area." The book goes on to tell the story that on April 25, 1870 a group of the sparrows were released in Lafayette Park, having been brought to the U.S. for a celebration of some German immigrants. Later on we read: "Within the city of St. Louis, the most consistent area for finding the ETS has been southwest of Forest Park, an area bordered roughly by Wise Avenue on the south, and a few blocks east of McCausland Avenue on the east... Curiously, they are seldom encountered in Forest and Tower Grove Park."
Well, I can guarantee you there are a few dozen in my back yard every day of winter, and still a number of them around in the summer. They seem to live in my huge brush pile in my backyard.
Photos taken by Sally Sharamitaro
The winter wren is a now and again visitor to our yard. There is a pair that come when they come, and on the days they show up they tend to stay for a long time and to same every single sort of food we offer -- regular yellow wild bird seed, sunflower seeds, thistle, suet. They have such lovely coloring.
Photo taken by Sally Sharamitaro
Our first visit from a tufted titmouse. Cute little nervous bird. Photo taken by Sally Sharamitaro
April 26, 2008 The downy is a daily visitor and while it mainly likes to eat
at the suet feeder, now and again it will eat sunflower seeds. Photo taken by Sally Sharamitaro Photos taken by Sally Sharamitaro The bird tends to sit in the chain-line fence a couple feet from a
sunflower seed feeder. Then it rushes to the feeder, grabs a
seed and moves back to the fence to eat. It seems to like the greater "cover" of the fence. It then holds the seed in its claw and
eats it from the claw.
The first chickadee I've seen in my yard came just
a few days ago, mid-August 2007. This is another bird where I have revised my original
identification. I thought it was a black-capped chickadee. Shawn
Clubb, a much more experienced bird watcher than I suggests it
is actually more likely to be a Carolina chickadee, and I have
decided to go with that identification for a while. It is a very
new arrival to my yard, less than a week ago, and it seems there are
two of them who drop by almost every day in the late afternoon.
I'll try to watch them more carefully and get further photos of this
bird.
Photos taken by Sally Sharamitaro One of our favorite and most colorful daily visitors is
the goldfinch. Here is the bright yellow of the summer male.
The bird is on a thistle feeder which seems to be its favorite
food that we offer.
First bird photo taken by Bob Corbett which I've mounted
to my web page The male house finch seems to me an often wrongly identified
as a purple finch. I have only seen one purple finch in my yard and one in Forest Park, but there are dozens and dozens of this bird,
the house finch. In this summer photo the red on the bird is
more pinkish than red, but in winter it is more red.
The purple finch has much more of the belly as red, most of it, while this bird has less than have it the breast as red.
Photo taken by Sally Sharamitaro The blue jay is a daily visitor and likes it a great deal in
winter when we put out peanuts in the shell. It will make several
trips to the peanut bucket, take one, head to a tree and hold the
nut in its claw while it breaks it open with its beak.
Photo taken by Sally Sharamitaro These birds are constant visitors and both are ground feeders.
Now and again, but not often they will visit a feeder.
Photos taken by Sally Sharamitaro The brown-headed cowbirds used to be in our yard constantly in 2007. In 2008 we
had not seen one until March 20th when three showed up to feed. They normally traveled to our yard in flocks of mainly grackles and with a few red-wing blackbirds. The cowbirds
are a bit smaller than either of those other two.
Photo taken by Sally Sharamitaro The starlings aren't my favorite visitors, but there are daily, that's for sure. Note that in summer the young take on strong spots
on the breast and some different coloring.
Photos taken by Sally Sharamitaro Bob Corbett corbetre@webster.edu
TUFTED TITMOUSE
DOWNY WOODPECKER
EURASIAN COLLARED DOVES
This lovely bird which we have nick-named "The Queen" first
showed up in the very cold of winter. At that time the color was
much more pure white than this late summer photo. It wasn't a
daily visitor, but came quite often all winter long
I added this second photo to help with the identification. The Eurasian collared dove is not even list in the famous Peterson guide.
However, it is in Selby's guide. Note the darkness of the wing
feathers. This seems to be a key difference of this bird from
the ringed turtle-dove.
CAROLINA CHICADEE
August, 2007
MALE GOLDFINCH -- SUMMER COLORS
August, 2007
HOUSE FINCH (MALE - SUMMER COLORS)
August, 2007
BLUE JAY
August, 2007
MOURNING DOVE AND ROCK DOVE
August, 2007
BROWN HEADED COWBIRD
March 20, 2008
March 20, 2008
STARLINGS -- YOUNG IN SUMMER
August, 2007