Field Blog 12

Locations: 1637 Menlo Ave, Arcade US-CA (38.5948,-121.3499) (26 m)

Site Description: This week, I went birding in my front and back yard again. There are many trees and shrubs in my yard, and they vary in size from the ground to tall oak trees. Overall, the area is pretty flat and quiet. It is always difficult to get a good look of the birds in this area because most of them are small and flit around quickly. Most of the birds I saw were in trees high up or on the ground. There were a few soaring birds seen in the distance. Overall, the birds seen were mainly smaller in size. There were lots of bird calls and chirping and it has been noisy lately in regards to bird songs. I was able to get a visual on most of the birds this trip. It was slightly windy today, while the rest of the week had been much more sunny and hot. The fences and trees made it difficult to get a good look of all the birds. It was hard to track them when they flew away due to the tall trees. As usual, the small birds were quick to flit from branch to branch. I saw about 7 different taxa and the key bird species seen included: Black Pheobe, Turkey Vulture, California Scrub Jay, American Crow, Tree Swallow, Yellow Warbler, and Anna’s Hummingbird.

Species Account: Yellow-Rumped Warbler was one of the prettiest birds I always used to see. I decided to do my species account for this bird in honor of the one I always used to see in my yard who is no longer alive (see my narrative below)! I always would see this bird alone, and not with any others of its kind, suggesting it might be nomadic. It had very bright coloration of yellow around its neck and wings. Based on the photo below and looking carefully at the coloration, I believe it is an Audubon’s Adult Male Yellow-Rumped Warbler. Yellow-Rumped Warblers are sparrow sized birds, but on the larger side. Males tend to be more grayish while females are duller and more brown (All About Birds). Their distinguishing feature is a bright yellow rump (throat area and some yellow around the wings (All About Birds). The Yellow-Rumped Warbler’s diet mainly includes insects and berries (Audubon). In the summer, they live in heavily wooded areas and in the winter they move to coastal or residential areas (All About Birds). They are thought to lay 3-5 eggs per brood and lay two broods a year in a nest made by the female (Audubon). Both parents help in the nesting/feeding — while the male tends to do more in this species in regards to feeding and in working to attract the female (Audubon).

NarrativeI went birding for about an hour in my front and back yard. We have been hearing a group of birds nesting in one of the trees in our backyard and the baby birds have been screeching loudly in the daytime. We noticed they were getting into our backyard shed and today we thought one was stuck in the back so we helped it get out. I identified it as a juvenile California Scrub Jay as it was mainly gray with a blue tail. It flew back to its nest after and it was fine. I was surprised it was so large for a juvenile. I started birding this morning after that around 12pm. It was sunny outside and the weather has been hot. But there was a slight breeze today and cooler than this past week. I mainly was looking in the tree branches for any movement and hearing chirping. I saw a few Turkey Vultures soaring in the distance. I also saw the Yellow Warbler again and it was very vocal like last time! I saw many of swallows flying overhead quickly. I identified them easily by their undulating flight and song. I saw Black Phoebes a couple times and they either landed on power lines or the roof of the house. Also, earlier this week, my neighbor saw me outside and told me that they just found a dead bird while they were doing yard work. They think it may have flew into a window. She showed me the bird and I identified it as the Yellow-Rumped Warbler that I had seen a lot earlier when birding in my area. I was sad to see this and that explains why I have not seen a Yellow-Rumped Warbler in a long time! I attached a photo below of the bird, more so to see the coloration of the bird. Sorry, not trying to be morbid or anything! RIP to the little warbler! But apart from that, overall, it was a super nice day for birding! 

Additional Photos or Media: https://ebird.org/checklist/S68083069

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