The distinctive calls of the Northern Flicker announce the arrival of fall here in northern Utah, and on cue, to too does the arrival of at least five subspecies of Dark-eyed Juncos. I’m always a little sad to see the last of what I think of as the bird-friendly coffee plantation birds of summer - the Black-chinned Hummingbirds, Lazuli Buntings, Western Tanagers, and Bullock’s Orioles, but I welcome the winter guests, and appreciate the drama they bring to my window feeders.
The seasonal changes in backyard birds is as exciting as the rare bird sightings because it is these changes and outliers which keep us alert, in tune, and connected to the world around us.
I often take breaks from supplemental feeding for by backyard birds over the summer,
especially whenever there’s visitors with avian pox, but when the snowbirds return, it’s time to fill the feeders with Black Oil Sunflower seeds, and this seasonal task is a way to stay grounded in a busy and sometimes unsettling world.
Though I live at the edge of town in the Wildland Urban Interface, I mostly enjoy the typical backyard songbirds such as the House Finch, American Goldfinch, Lesser Goldfinch, and Pine Siskins. Black-capped Chickadees come and go, as do Mountain Chickadees, and as others have been observing, there appear to be more higher elevation species coming to town for food - people are reporting Clark’s Nutcracker as a first in 17 years, as well as Steller’s Jays, and Woodhouse’s Scrub Jays.
My most unusual sightings in the past few years have included a Red-headed Woodpecker, which I really doubted, knowing we are well out of their range, but when I found that there had been a number of sightings in Logan Canyon over the years, I stopped doubting myself, especially since there is no other bird which even remotely resembles that bright red head, white belly and black back. Another rare bird sighting was the White-headed Woodpecker, but, again, there’s just no other species with that solid white head, red nape patch, and black wings with white wing bar. For my backyard feeders, though, the Northern Flicker is the only woodpecker which returns and hangs around, sometimes for hours working on the suet, black oil sunflower seeds, and even the white millet.
For those new to bird watching, I highly recommend checking whether there’s a local Audubon chapter or other bird watching group with an annual wild bird seed sale fundraiser, and if nothing else, to consider providing water year round, and especially through the winter.
Don’t forget to keep an eye out for the birds which may visit your garden if not your feeders - during migration there may even be the distinctive rattle of an overhead herd of Sandhill Cranes, or the honks from a flock of Canada Geese. This was the first time in 15 years I had a Canada Goose in my backyard, and I was recently visited by a Sage Thrasher, which are ground foraging insectivores, and when the light catches them just right as evening approaches, I can see small groups of Tree Swallows, busy aerial insectivores, catching their dinner on the wing.
I’m Hilary Shughart with the Bridgerland Audubon Society, and I am Wild About Feeding Utah’s Backyard Birds!
Credits:
Images: Courtesy & Copyright Hilary Shughart, Photographer
Featured Audio: Courtesy & Copyright © Kevin Colver, https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections/kevin-colver
Voice & Text: Hilary Shughart, President, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/
Additional Reading: Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/
Additional Reading:
Procure Bird Seed from local Audubon Chapters:
Great Salt Lake Audubon
Bridgerland Audubon
Other Statewide Birding Groups
Shughart, Hilary, To Grow Your Own Bird Food, Native Plants Are Key!, Wild About Utah, April 12, 2021, https://wildaboututah.org/native-plants-are-key/
Kervin, Linda, Bird Feeding, Wild About Utah, November 25, 2008, https://wildaboututah.org/bird-feeding/
Kervin, Linda, Cane, Jim, Feed the Birds, Wild About Utah, December 1, 2011, https://wildaboututah.org/feed-the-birds/
Liberatore, Andrea, Dark-eyed Juncos, Wild About Utah, January 12, 2012, https://wildaboututah.org/dark-eyed-juncos/
