Orange Overload

After coming home from work in the evenings, I usually refill my bird feeders and put out new oranges.  Two nights ago, the colorful birds were going absolutely crazy over the oranges, and yellow and orange streaks where darting everywhere in between angry chatters. 

Six male Western Tanagers dominated the oranges, while a female Western Tanager chased every Bullock's Oriole that even looked at the suet feeder away.  Both male and female Black-headed Grosbeaks stuck to the seed feeder, but occasionally sneaked over to an orange when no one else was looking.  By far these are the most colorful yard birds I have ever had!

Western Tanager - male

Western Tanager - male

Western Tanager - male

Western Tanager - male at suet

Western Tanager - male

Bullock's Oriole - male at suet

Black-headed Grosbeak - male

Black-headed Grosbeak - female sneaking a bite of orange

Black-headed Grosbeak - female at feeder with peanut

This blog post is a part of WORLD BIRD WEDNESDAY!

Birding Update for Boise, ID parks

I've been staying fairly close to Boise over the last few days for birding.  There are a few species out right now that you are pretty much guaranteed to see if you visit any of Boise's parks, especially Foote Park and Discovery Park.  Bullock's Orioles are very numerous and have begun nesting, and are the most numerous yard bird we have at the moment.  They devour about 5 oranges a day up at our camper.

Bullock's Oriole - immature male

Bullock's Oriole - male

Black-headed Grosbeaks are also everywhere, and seem to jump around in flocks with orioles and Western Tanagers.  No one really touched the suet feeder in our yard the first few weeks we had it out, but the Black-headed Grosbeaks surprisingly love it!

Black-headed Grosbeak - male

Black-headed Grosbeak - male at suet feeder

Western Tanagers are also here in full force, and we noticed a surge of them with a storm two nights ago.  Surprisingly, they also really like the oranges at our feeders, but are easily bullied by the Bullock's Orioles that dominate the oranges.  House Wrens and Magpies also visit our oranges throughout the day.

Western Tanager - female

Western Tanager - male

If you've been birding in the foothills near Boise, you've likely come across huge flocks of Chipping Sparrows in the past week and a half or so.  There were hundreds on the hillsides by Foote Park a week ago, and the numbers seem to be dropping off just slightly.

Chipping Sparrow

While birding with local birder "RL" at Foote Park a few days ago, we came across our FOY Wilson's Warbler and Warbling Vireo!!!  Both species are pretty much a guarantee this week at Foote and Discovery Parks.

Wilson's Warbler

RL and I also found about 6 different Dusky Flycatchers.  Gray flycatchers have been reported here, but we haven't yet been able to spot one.

Dusky Flycatcher

And although they've been around for awhile, I still enjoy seeing Lewis's Woodpeckers in our yard and at Discovery Park.  They may be turning into my new favorite woodpecker species!

Lewis's Woodpecker

Yesterday, while birding with Alex and our new co-worker Morgan, we found our first MacGillivrays Warbler at Foote Park.  We didn't get photos, but we are sure we will come across more.  Yellow Warblers are still packed in as well, and are now busy nest-building at Foote Park. 

Another guarantee is now Lazuli Bunting, which are one of the most common birds at Foote Park and are easily spotted foraging low in the willows.

Lazuli Bunting - male

Yellow-breasted Chats are now on territories as well, and are chatting their little hearts out at Foote Park.  They are a lot more visible and less sneaky now that they are defending territories, and can be easily spotted when they do their crazy displays.

Yellow-breasted Chat - male

Calliope Hummingbird and Other Arrivals

Last night before heading to our camper for the night, we stopped at Discovery State Park.  The tree tops were packed full of birds.  We had the typical Audubon's and Nashville Warblers, in addition to a few Yellow Warblers.  A few Red-breasted Nuthatches also made their way around the tree tops, and we spotted our FOY Bullock's Orioles (at least 4 males and a female), and a few Lazuli Buntings (2 males and a female).  The brightly colored birds stood out well against the overcast sky, as the rain started for the evening.  A large flock of Pine Siskins also flew in, and we had a flyover Caspian Tern and Peregrine Falcon!  As we were about to leave, a pair of large dark birds flew over us, and landed high in a tree nearby...finally, we found a pair of Lewis's Woodpeckers.  Two others appeared at the same time, and all 4 were pretty noisy as they settled in for the evening.  For some reason, they remind me of Count Dracula as they fly in to land on tree trunks.

Lazuli Bunting - male

Bullock's Oriole - male

Nashville Warbler

Nashville Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Lewis's Woodpecker

Lewis's Woodpecker

Lewis's Woodpecker

Back at our camper, another pair of Lewis's Woodpeckers flew in during a rain shower, making our resident pair of American Kestrels pretty unhappy.  The woodpeckers settled into the tree tops, while a few Western Kingbirds caught an evening snack.

It literally rained all night, but that didn't stop a load of migrants from arriving.  Our yard was the place to be this morning if you were a bird.  The Lewis's Woodpeckers were all over the place, and as soon as I stepped outside, I heard some hummingbird chatter and saw two dart past me into the bushes.  I couldn't tell what they were, so I ran back in to the camper to get the hummingbird feeder out that I made the night before.  As I was putting it in a tree, I spotted a male Rufous Hummingbird watching me from the bushes.  He was a little too shy to come over while I was there, so I went inside to get some oranges for any Bullock's Orioles that may have arrived. 

Rufous Hummingbird - male

Rufous Hummingbird - male

Rufous Hummingbird - male (photo by Alex Lamoreaux)

While I was inside, Alex spotted a male Calliope Hummingbird, and a Western Tanager!  As I was hanging the oranges in the tree, I got an up close look at both the male Rufous and male Calliope Hummingbird, who thought it would be OK to investigate my red flannel shirt.  Soon after, two more male Calliope Hummingbirds appeared, and also another male Rufous.  The Rufous Hummingbirds were very timid, and let North American's smallest bird dominate the feeder. 

Calliope Hummingbird - male

Calliope Hummingbird - male

Calliope Hummingbird - male (photo by Alex Lamoreaux)

While the hummingbirds were busy draining the feeder (two Rufous males eventually started feeding together), a pair of Cassin's Finch got to work quickly making a nest above our camper.  The House Wrens in the yard were busy singing their little heads off, and we finally spotted a few male Bullock's Orioles sitting in a tree.  We also had a Nashville and a Yellow Warbler in our yard for the first time.

Cassin's Finch pair, nest building

Rufous Hummingbird - males (photo by Alex Lamoreaux)