Today’s nature calendar task:
On our hikes I have seen the golden-crowned kinglet, and some unidentified swallows and an unidentified woodpecker (probably a downy).
It has snowed here the last three days and there has been a frenzy at our feeders. We have had a flock of at least 30 goldfinches, plus some house finches, mourning doves, house sparrows, a few chickadees, some juncos, a pair of cardinals and the song sparrow. The red-winged blackbird has also made an appearance.
I am especially enjoying the transformation the goldfinches are making, as they lose their drab winter coats and replace them with the gorgeous bright yellow feathers and the saucy black cap.
Some of the female birds are tricky to identify. Your backyard feeders are a good place to really take a close look. The female house finch is a good example, she's all brown with some stripes on her breast. There are a lot of sparrows that have striped breasts, it is easy to get confused. Slightly larger, but looking an awful lot like the female house finch, is the female red-winged blackbird. She has not a speck of red or black and again, is all brown with a striped breast. The female house sparrow does not have the tell-tale black throat that her mate has, she is all brown but without the striped breast. With a little time, these more difficult birds to identify will also become familiar.
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