We Got Other Birds, Too

Because the hummingbirds have been getting all the attention recently, I figured our other feathered neighbors needed some equal time.

Right outside our patio is what we've decided is a white mulberry tree. It's a central gathering place for all the birds, but most amusingly the Robins*. When I first noticed them around, I was wondering how they found enough worms to eat — eventually, we discovered that they eat the mulberries. Not really being primarily tree-feeders, they do it less than gracefully, and, well, kind of humorously, lurching and tottering around and occasionally falling off the tree. There seemed to be two Robin couples, each with one speckled youngster learning how to live on its own.



The most numerous birds are, by far, the House Finches. They live under the Spanish-style red tile overhangs over the window, around the downspouts, and in other nooks and crannies on the apartments. Sometimes, they cling to the side of the adobe-type walls of the apartment. Their chirping provides a pretty constant soundtrack all day long.

The Finches seem to keep the House Sparrows in line. For the first time in any place I've lived, I think they're outnumbered. And they seem not to be too happy about it.

There's also been a couple sightings of a Black-headed Grosbeak, but it kind of comes and goes. And for a while, there looked to be a Say's Phoebe setting up a home, and I think a sighting the other morning. And, in the area, there's the obligatory Mourning Doves.

We also occasionally hear and even see some Crows around (tough to tell from a distance, but I'm almost positive they're not Ravens). We do enjoy Crows and their antics, so it's a little disappointing that we don't get to see more of them.

But when you're sitting out on the porch, and the hummingbird is feeding and hovering so close that you can feel the breeze from its wings, it's easy to see why we get so hung up on them.



* Should all the bird names be capitalized? I went back and forth on that. Seems correct, but it looks weird.