There was a lot of excitement in our house this afternoon. My husband was looking out the window at the feeder and suddenly jumped up, pointing at the feeder excitedly. We have a visitor we haven’t seen before. He scrambled to get the camera, as I began intensely looking at the bird to remember every detail I could in case it left before we could ge a picture of it. Then I grabbed the field guide.
Black Headed Grosbeak awaits his turn at the feeder.
Jim said he thought it was an oriole so I hurriedly went to the index in the back of the book. Though there are some similarities to the oriole, I wanted to look a little further. I have learned over the past year of backyard birdwatching, which details help in identifying and distinguishing one bird from another. First and foremost is the overall color, then look at the finer details like wing and head markings, the shape and color of the beak and the length of the tail.
In looking further, then comparing the picture in the book with the pictures Jim took, and finally going to the internet to find a more detailed picture with which to compare, we concluded it must be a Black Headed Grosbeak. A migratory visitor stopping by for lunch on it’s way to Mexico and Central America.
We extend an excited welcome to all our winged friends passing through.
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