Predator

Saturday afternoon, I opened the back door and saw this immature Copper's hawk eating its lunch in our tree.


I couldn't make out what the hawk was eating. I hope it was a mouse or lizard and not a songbird.  I dreamed it ate a titmouse, but thank goodness, that was just a dream. There wasn't any evidence that the hawk caught its prey in our yard. Instead, I think it was attracted by the sparseness of our dying tree – the perfect place to alight for a meal.

(As an aside, our tree has been dying since before we moved in. It has been a long goodbye. Yet with all of the fascinating birds that have used this tree precisely because of its declining health, – woodpeckers, great horned owls and now the hawk – it's been a asset, even in its waning state.)


When the hawk saw me looking at it, it hoped to a higher branch but stayed in the tree and watched me for a while.


I was interested to see that while the hawk and I looked at each other, three starling sat in the same tree about 12 feet above the hawk. Ballsy if you ask me!


Even more courageous was the blue jay who broke the silence of the other birds and screamed at the hawk to move on its way. I was surprised the hawk responded. All hail the hero blue jay.

Spotted Towhee

In November and again on Monday, we noticed a new bird in our yard, the spotted towhee. According to the bird book, the spotted towhee is a winter resident with a black head and back, white wing markings, rust or rufous colored sides and a red eye.



It was sound, not sight, that first clued us in to this visitor. My husband had the windows open, and he heard continuous rustling in the mulch. It wasn't the gentle examining that a wrens and cardinals do, but powerful and purposeful rummaging, like a chicken scratching for bugs.



Towhees like to hunt in shrubby undergrowth. Our growing xylosma hedge seems to fit that description, and we've enhanced the habitat by filling the beds with shredded sycamore leaves from a neighbor's tree.

Speaking of birds, if you live in South or Central Texas, I have a recommendation for you. Check out this birding blog that my friend Sam recently launched. Whenever I am stumped by a bird ID question, Sam has the answer. (He identified this generic looking warble for me last year.) He also tips me off to when seasonal are birds have made their appearance. I'm always impressed by his adventures and bird knowledge.

Why hello there!

Why hello there wren! So glad you stopped by.

Bird Sanctuary

How many different kinds of birds do you think visit a small, suburban San Antonio backyard on a Saturday in September?

Would you believe 15! Between the drought and the change in seasons, we had a full bird sanctuary in our backyard this weekend.

His throat is more red than the nectar. Amazing!

Ruby-throated humming birds are migrating through our area now. Usually, there were three, and up to five, within view at one time.





I was so happy to see that a house finch and his wife have decided to frequent our yard. We used to have a pair that came by regularly, but I hadn't seen them in about two years.




Another infrequent visitor that made an appearance Saturday was the titmouse. They are fairly common for a lot of suburban birders, but I only see this guy about three times a year. I was glad that he took an interest in the cat fur that I put in a suet box behind the wind chime.


We have way too many starlings right now (about ten total). Their speckles are attractive but their manners are so bad that it's hard for me to appreciate their beauty. In their defense, however, they seem to be more tolerant of other birds right now than they are in the winter when they act like a street gang.


I rarely see cardinals taking a bath, but on Saturday, this one was splashing like a fool.



Ditto for mocking birds. I don't know if I've ever seen one splash in the water. Doesn't he look ridiculously undignified when he is all puffed up and bathing?



The Carolina wren is Travis' favorite. He keeps hoping to entice a pair to our wren nesting box, but so far, no luck. This one must live nearby because it stops by once in a while. We see it about once every two or three weeks.


At least two of the golden fronted woodpeckers that were born in a nest in our tree survived. Unlike the other juvenile birds we've seen lately, the young woodpeckers are significantly smaller than their parents and easy to distinguish.

One. Two.Three scrub jays dined with us this weekend.




Another wave of Baltimore Orioles made a stop in our area. This time, I counted about seven at once.



And finally, if you look closely, you can see what I believe is a yellow warbler peaking out from behind this tree. If my ID is correct, it's my first ever sighting.

But wait; that's only 13 birds, you say. Well, I didn't photograph the usual suspects: sparrows, grackles, white wing dove and Inca dove.

Believe it or not, there are a few additional birds that I think I could reasonably hope to attract right now, but for some reason, I've never been successful. I'm still waiting for the lesser gold finches and chickadees to come to my sanctuary.



Late breaking news! Look what landed in my tree after I drafted this post! TWO great horned owls!! They were calling with the same notes at the same time and you could hear the difference in the male and female's pitch. In January at about the same time of night (near midnight), the male visited us. Now he's here again with a mate. So cool!

WOW! Make that 16 different species of birds.

Baltimore Oriole

Yesterday's breeze and cooler temperatures (92°) brought a wonderful treat! A trio of Baltimore Orioles visited our yard.


I've read about these colorful birds in magazines, but I've never been fortunate enough to see them in person. The magazines make orioles seem as common as hummingbirds, but since I'd never seen them in Texas, I figured that they were a northeastern bird – a reasonable assumption when their name includes the word "Baltimore." How wrong I was. San Antonio is in their migration route.


This is the female. Her underside is much more colorful than her top.


From the backside, she looks like a large warbler, which is what we thought she was at first.


Once I spotted the male, however, I knew exactly which section of the bird book to flip to. These birds are a little smaller than mockingbirds, and I was surprised to see that they aren't shy around other birds. They have no problem mingling with sparrows, cardinals and even starlings.


The orioles have been here since Friday. Travis first spotted the female at the birdbath, but her identity was a mystery until Monday when I noticed the male. In this drought, it's probably a challenge for the birds to find water on their trek south so I bet the bird bath was key factor in their decision to visit us.

Keep your bird baths full. If this drought brings us nothing else, at least you might see some new birds.