The Endless Big Sit

Our yard continues to yield new “quarantine” bird species almost every day. A few of these have been new yard species, too. We have been at this location for almost 1 year.

Yesterday on the way back from my daily morning coffee walk around my neighborhood, I saw a Chipping Sparrow in our next-door neighbour’s flowering dogwood tree. I slowly walked past the tree and onto our driveway. Chipper was still in the tree! Bam! Yard bird #78! Sadly I have no photograph of Chipper because I don’t bring such luxuries as a camera on my morning coffee walk. I’m fresh out of bed and usually in my PJs.

Last weekend, a new and quite surprising yard bird, a Greater Yellowlegs, flew along Lacamas Creek and wadded around long enough for me to get a few terrible photos from my office window.

Other highlights from this past week included my yard’s second Lincoln’s Sparrow and yard’s first Brown-headed Cowbird.

As of yesterday, my total yard count is at 79 species and my quarantine list is at 58 species.

Here is a photo blog update of some of the birdy highlights, new and old, from our yard over the past week and a half.

White-crowned Sparrow. I believe this is the Gambel’s subspecies because of its pale lore. If this is correct, I suspect most of the WCSPs in my yard right now are Gambel’s. Camas, WA. April 2020.

My second yard Lincoln’s Sparrow. Camas, WA. April 2020.

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon’s), probably a female. New yard bird #74. I’ve had little flocks of 12 to 30 pass through our yard this past week. Camas, WA. April 2020.

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon’s), probably a female. I’ve had little flocks of 12 to 30 pass through our yard this past week. New yard bird #74. Camas, WA. April 2020.

Greater Yellowlegs, taken from my office window. New yard bird #78. Lacamas Creek. Camas, WA. April 2020.

Greater Yellowlegs, taken from my office window. New yard bird #78. Lacamas Creek. Camas, WA. April 2020.

Steller’s Jay, after sending a pile of American Goldfinches off into the trees. Camas, WA. April 2020.

Fox Sparrow. Camas, WA. April 2020.

Fox Sparrow. Camas, WA. April 2020.

Brown-headed Cowbird. New yard bird #77. Camas, WA. April 2020.

The yard! Camas, WA. April 2020.