Backyard Birder

Dark-eyed Junco female at one of our backyard feeders (my photo)

All work and no play makes Jack (or Randy) a dull boy. I’m most decidedly dull but I do take time away from work to refresh when I can. Besides taiko drumming, blogging, occasionally golfing and fishing, cheering on my Oregon Ducks, and reading, I also share one of my wife’s avocations: bird watching. 

We’re hardly serious birders. Mostly, we’re casual backyard observers. We delight in seeing so many different species at our feeders, which have included the following: 

• Acorn Woodpecker
• American Crow
• American Robin
• Anna’s Hummingbird
• Berwick’s Wren
• Black-Capped Chickadee
• Bushtit
• California Scrub Jay
• Chestnut-Backed Chickadee
• Dark-Eyed Junco
• Downy Woodpecker
• European Starling
• Evening Grosbeak
• Golden-Crowned Kinglet
• House Finch
• House Sparrow
• Lesser Goldfinch
• Mourning Dove
• Northern Flicker
• Orange-Crowned Warbler
• Pine Siskin
• Rufous Hummingbird
• Song Sparrow
• Spotted (Rufous-Sided) Towhee
• Stellar’s Jay
• Varied Thrush
• White-Crowned Sparrow
• Yellow-Rumped Warbler

The variety of birds we see in our yard is remarkable. Of these, the Evening Grosbeak has perhaps been the most enigmatic. Supposedly a common sight throughout Oregon, we haven’t seen any since one season many years ago when large flocks dominated our backyard for several days. We don’t know why they appeared that one year and haven’t returned since.  

Evening Grosbeak (photo by Cephas [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)])

To attract birds, my wife tends several feeders: some are platform-types, others are suet-feeders, seed cylinder feeders, seed tubes, and nectar (hummingbird) feeders. She also applies bark butter (a spreadable suet) in the collar of branches. She’s particularly diligent during the colder months in providing for the benefit of our resident and winter visitors. Annually, we spend a small fortune on bird food, but it’s been a worthwhile investment because of the joy our pastime brings us. We’re especially thrilled when we see a species new to us partaking from our backyard buffet. 

Wintering House Finches outside our bedroom window (my photo)

Stellar’s Jay (my photo)

Besides cataloguing the birds that frequent our yard, we also get out and about to various natural areas renowned for the assortment of avian types they draw. Here in Eugene, we regularly visit Golden Gardens Park, Hendricks Park, Meadowlark Prairie, Willow Creek, Delta Ponds, Whilamut Natural Area, and the Bertelsen Nature Park. Elsewhere in Oregon, the William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge and the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area are two of our favorite birding destinations. We’ve also visited the Zumwalt Prairie in the northeastern corner of the state, and my wife has also been to the Malheur and Klamath National Wildlife Refuges. Closer to home, there’s the Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge and the Fern Ridge Wildlife Area. The birds who reside in these various ecosystems range from shore birds like plovers and sandpipers to raptors such as falcons, hawks, Ospreys, and Bald eagles. We’ve seen pelicans and cormorants, pheasants and turkeys, loons and grebes. We’ve spotted murres and puffins, herons and egrets, nighthawks and swifts, and gulls and terns. Others are more elusive; because of their nocturnal ways, we’ve yet to see an owl (other than ones in captivity). 

Great Egret (my photo)

Hooded Mergansers (my photo)

Central to birding is its aesthetic appeal. The diversity of forms, colorations, and proportions is astounding. It’s no wonder birds have long been a favorite subject of artists. We happen to own several antique engravings or lithographs depicting birds from all over the earth. Beyond their original value as accurate renderings of species most people would never otherwise have been aware of, these ornithological illustrations are simply beautiful works of art.

Summer Redbird (engraving after a watercolor by John James Audubon, circa 1820, from our collection).

Many birders are accomplished photographers, something I most definitely am not (as the photos here that I’ve taken prove). Nature photography requires considerable patience and care, which I lack in abundance. I certainly admire and appreciate the work of skillful shutterbugs.

An example of excellent avian photography: Golden-tailed Sapphire Hummingbird (by Marcial4 [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)])

I’m also no woodworker but I do think about one day designing and building our own bird feeders and houses for installation in our yard—a seemingly obvious pursuit for a bird-loving architect. What style might be most appropriate for such follies? Something along the lines of an Arts & Crafts home by Greene & Greene? Or perhaps something wholly original yet functional?

Our enthusiasm for birding is tinged with some sadness. Though the number of individuals we see remains sizeable, recent studies indicate the populations of migratory songbirds are rapidly declining. Researchers estimate North America has lost more than 1 in 4 birds just in the last 50 years (nearly three billion fewer today compared to 1970). Apparently, there isn’t one single factor that accounts for the pervasive losses. Habitat degradation is a likely driver, but so too may be pesticide use, climate change, and parallel declines in insect populations. The disappearance of billions of birds due to human activity should be alarming to everyone. I find it utterly frightening this has occurred within my lifetime. It isn’t just canaries dying in the coal mines anymore.

My wife and I support organizations whose missions include protecting native Oregon wildlife and their habitats. One of these groups is the Cascades Raptor Center here in Eugene, which provides a hospital for sick or injured birds of prey (which ideally are rehabilitated and released back to the wild). In addition to nursing birds back to health, the Center provides public education designed to “enhance the awareness, respect, appreciation, and care of the earth and all its inhabitants so critical for a balanced and healthy planet.”

We share our backyard birding hobby with many others. Its popularity is at an all-time high. I like to think all birders are conservationists, people dedicated to the protection and preservation of the environment and wildlife. Though it seems there’s little we can do to halt our planet’s ruinous trajectory, simply appreciating the nature around us is a positive step forward. Birdwatching is a highly accessible activity, and a particularly excellent means to engage children with the natural world. People who acquire firsthand experience with nature and wildlife at a young age learn to care for nature and wildlife. We can never have enough advocates for the environment, people willing to assume responsibility for our failures as a species. There’s hopefulness in that thought, something I cling to and can make peace with.