Many years since I’ve seen a Pygmy Nuthatch, and never here, & the Red-breasted was always a Fall visitor, but only in past few years, has it become year-round. White-breasted has always been rare for us. That’s neat that you get all three, Nancy.
Fall migrant birds are slowing here, too, Bill. Just a handful of YR Warblers & more winter residents arriving with DE Juncos showing & a few Townsend’s Solitaires starting to stake out juniper trees. Have a good bunch of White-crowned Sparrows appearing, but they never stay for long. And the kettles of Swainson’s Hawks appear to have pushed on through.
We’re sparse here. Two kinds of chickadees, black headed and mountain, magpies and turkeys with a several times a day red tail flyover. Turkeys are getting sparse because season opened.
Here on Moscow Mountain’s edge we are fortunate to have both red-breasted and white-beasted nuthatches appear daily year round. Pygmy nuthatches also come often but don’t appear every day. All come to the bird water features, glean from the trees, and come to the seed/suet feeders.
An old friend returned this AM, WB Nuthatch. Over the past 3-4 yrs, RB Nuthatches have become year-round residents. But, the WB remains an infrequent visitor. Only once, in a January, did we have an irruption for about a month of WB Nuthatches gathering & making caches of sunflower seeds. The one this AM was visiting the platform feeder, as well.
Watched several kettles of 75+ Swainson’s Hawks headed South this afternoon. Then, toward dusk, one group started dropping into our property’s cottonwoods. In our 36 yrs here, have witnessed such only one other time, when a group dropped in for a rest & was gone by daybreak.
Most I counted on one tree today was 10 individuals (photo). Other groups were in neighboring trees in 3’s to 6 or more. Just imagine, some of these birds may find their way to the Pampas of Argentina this month!
Thanks, Diann! Pygmy has made only a handful of visits over the years. Once had a Saw-whet take refuge in the open rafters of our garage during a raging blizzard! I had inadvertently left a garage door open & went to close it, then saw the little owl staring down at me. Left the door open & it had departed by daybreak.
Last night, had a pair of Great-horneds carrying on a “conversation ‘ with each other for a half hour, in backyard cottonwoods. Others, over the years, have been: Long-eared, Short-eared, Barn & a single sighting of a Great Gray flyover. Shows importance of intact Riparian habitat.
YR Warbler activity is rapidly fading. We have a change with lower temperatures arriving this week & think that will play a role with the rush of fall migration.
Brian Carrigan
Blackfoot
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