One great trend to come out of the pandemic has been the rise of hyperlocal birding. I know I've been paying more attention to my own patch as I've been unable to do much serious travel in the last year or so. The idea of birding your own backyard has been around forever, but it's really blown up lately, as has the 5 Miles Radius list, popularized by Jen Sanford. Anyway, I'm going to present some of the birds I've seen in my yard this year, and will be providing occasional updates as other interesting visitors pass through. For informational purposes I live very close to Wildcat Canyon regional park, in the beautiful East Bay California. Technically, I am counting any bird I have seen from my front or back yard.
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| Hermit Thrush, nervous |
This would be a good time to mention that 1) these pictures are not going to all be the greatest, because I've limited myself somewhat to birds that catch my eye as they momentarily travel through my yard. More information and pictures are linked when available (i.e. they have previous appeared on this blog) 2) in the case of the hermit thrush, my old picture is not great either. In fact, I don't have any great hermit thrush pictures. I guess they don't call them 'social thrush' for a reason.
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Bewick's Wren, was geocaching before it was 'cool' Another thing I feel like I should mention is the privilege inherent in backyard birding. Not just the privilege of having a yard, which is significant, but of having access to nature. For me, living near a park, being in a neighborhood I can freely and safely walk around in without fear, and living someplace with a climate that permits being outside for the entire year and enormous contributors to my happiness, and things I know not everyone has access to. However, I do think that the concept of birding close to where you live is something that actually makes birding more accessible for some. And we should always be thinking about how to make birding more accessible and equitable. Ok, I'll let you get back to scrolling through blurry bird pictures from my yard now. |
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| Brown Creeper, thrill seeker |
This one actually hasn't appeared on the blog before! A lifer! In my backyard! To be honest, I've definitely seen brown creepers before, but never had a picture of one worth sharing. Well, this one's still not good enough to be worth sharing, but in the context of only birds in my backyard, it's making it in!
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| California Towhee, yearns for the sea |
If you asked me to guess what the bird I see the most often is in my backyard, California Towhee is what I would say. They are daily visitors and just hang out here all the time, sometimes, as in the above-linked blog, to their own detriment. They have single-handedly caused me to never leave my backdoor open.
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White-crowned Sparrow, eye for detail |
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| American Crow, "why bother?" |
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| House Finch, thinks "fake friends" are a real problem |
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| Lesser Goldfinch, always blinks or makes a weird face when a picture is taken of him. It's like a curse Funny enough, I now think the bird in this link looks more like an American Goldfinch (I've gotten a lot better at birding!), but it's still not totally clear to me, so I'm not gonna go change it). |
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| American Robin, Tries to convince people he's a fake plastic bird by sitting very still |
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| Eurasian Collared-Dove, weight of the world on her shoulders |
The following birds are visitors, but are not included in the blog. I distinctly remember seeing them or I see them often enough that I know I will get a picture of them soon.
Great Horned Owl- this was one of my most exciting backyard sightings. First thing in the morning I heard a great number of crows making a ruckus in the back yard. Possessing what little birding knowledge I have, I thought it would be worth it to go check out. Sure enough, I was able to briefly see a great horned owl in the neighbor's redwood before it was successfully flushed out by the crows. Truly an incredible experience.
I know none of these birds are the type that people really get excited for. In fact, it reads very much like a list of the most common birds seen anywhere in California- but that's kind of the point. They're all good birds, and they're all worth paying attention to. Thanks for reading, I hope this inspires more people to take up backyard and 5 mile radius birding.
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