Backyard Birds

I don't get many birds in my yard.  I've added a both hummer and thistle feeders, so I've doubled my backyard bird count in the last month.

Anna's Hummingbird
Pigeon (Rock Dove)
Inca Dove
House Finch
Juncos (both the slate-colored and the red-backed forms)
Abert's Towhee
Unidentified Doves (we have about a zillion species out here - I haven't ID'd the birds that flock with the Incas, I just know they are bigger)

Huh.  I guess that's better than I thought it was.  Still pretty low diversity.  My house has very little in plants, no habitat = no birds.  The ones that do visit use the neighbor's oleander as cover.

These two think it is their life's work to keep the birds out of the yard.  Sigh.

But they do demonstrate the little habitat I do have.  The finches and the juncos both love the seeds of the shepherd's purse plant ( Capsella bursa-pastoris), and the clover, as seen in the photos above the cut, provides excellent cover. 

The doves will actually hold in the grass until the dogs come in their direction before they break into flight.  I only saw three of the birds (shown in the first photo) but when the flock took off, there must have been around nine of them, all in that clover.

Comments

[Jan]

When we first started feeding the birds, we had very few show up. Gradually, we started having more and more hang around, so don't give up too soon. They may just take awhile to find your feeders.

[Jenn]

Hey Jan.

I'm surprisingly happy with the finches. They are such active and noisy little birds, they make up for a lot of absence of other birds.

And today, the abert's towhees discovered the seed and were coming up to the patio.

Birds are so cool to watch!

[Bogie]

You have some cute little guardians there!

As Jan stated, it may take a while to attract other birds to your area, but if you provide the food, they will come (cover, I have found, is optional and can actually be as little as a top over the feeder).