Already posted about the 2 lakes I visited while in the Rim Country, so to finish my posts on my trip from last weekend, decided to highlight a few photos that were taken while staying at Wayne's cabin in Heber, AZ. A very nice secluded 2 acres of quiet! And thanks to a few feeders that were hanging around we had a nice variety of birds at all times during the day. Birds were constantly coming and going and the most colorful of the lot were some Lesser Goldfinches. Maybe not as brightly colored as the American Goldfinch, but still quite handsome. These birds are a bright addition to the winter season and are usually quite at home visiting feeders in yards.
Lesser Goldfinch - Male
Another little bird that visited off and on was a Mountain Chickadee. It would come to the feeder, snatch a morsel and then take off with the food itme and finish eating it elsewhere.
Mountain Chickadee
Mountain Chickadee
Another species of bird that was quite common and numerous in and around the feeders was the Pine Siskin. Too many people they look a lot like House Finches, but when you look at them and study them, you will see they are quite different in structure and their beak is quite different than a House Finch beak. But the best field mark is the bit of yellow on the edges of the wings and the tail.
Pine Siskin
Pine Siskin
We also had our share of Chipping Sparrows flocking around the feeders, especially on the ground and cleaning up any seeds that had fallen. This photo is a Chipping Sparrow in their first winter plumage. A juvenile would have streaks on the chest and an adult would have a rufous crown and a bold white stripe above the eye complimenting that black line that extends from behind the eye all the way to the lores.
Chipping Sparrow
Now on to the Dark-eyed Juncos, which is actually a type of sparrow, but they can be a bit confusing to the novice birder as there are several races or sub-species of them. The coloration is variable in these races and on this trip we were fortunate enough to see several of these sub-species. Here are some of the photos I was able to capture of these fascinating birds.
'Oregon' Dark-eyed Junco
'Gray-headed' Dark-eyed Junco
'Oregon' Dark-eyed Junco
'Oregon' Dark-eyed Junco
'Pink-sided' Dark-eyed Junco on the right
'Gray-headed' Dark-eyed Junco
'Gray-headed' Dark-eyed Junco
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