Black Phoebe at Batiquitos Lagoon

Always photogenic, this phoebe chose to chase insects on a detritus-covered hillside. It was a chilly morning, so the ground here probably warmed faster than the surrounding area and led to the insect activity and happy phoebe breakfast.

Black Phoebe. Carlsbad, California. January 4, 2019.

More photos of Black Phoebes in San Diego from eBird. Click on the photos to rate (1 awful, 2 poor but identifiable, 3 average or small, 4 very good, 5 magazine cover worthy).

Two different American Kestrel photos

I was able to photograph two kestrels in January.

The first in Carlsbad was a bit distant, so I only shot a short burst. It turned out well for the distance.

For some reason I couldn't get sharp focus on the bird at Imperial Beach against the busy background. I was within 60 feet. I adjusted shutter speed between 1/400 and 1/2000 second. I concentrated on holding steady. I ended up taking over 100 shots, but just couldn't get it to focus sharply. Only one seemed good enough. I present it below. Fortunately, the bird was hunting fence lizards on an old piling and remained for over 10 minutes. That's why it was so frustrating that I couldn't obtain focus.

American Kestrel. Carlsbad, California. January 4, 2019.
f/5.6 1/800 sec. ISO-100

American Kestrel. Imperial Beach, California. January 20, 2019.
f/7.1 1/1000 sec. ISO-800

More photos of American Kestrels in San Diego from eBird. Click on the photos to rate (1 awful, 2 poor but identifiable, 3 average or small, 4 very good, 5 magazine cover worthy).

Black Turnstone at Coronado

I was able to get close photos of Black Turnstones at Coronado in late December. There aren't too many locations on the San Diego coastline where you can get down to turnstone level. Usually you have to shoot from high above.

Black Turnstone. Coronado, California. December 30, 2018. Greg Gillson.

Follow the link for eBird photos of Black Turnstones in San Diego County. Click on the photos to rate (1 awful, 2 poor but identifiable, 3 average or small, 4 very good, 5 magazine cover worthy).

Colored pencil art: Yellow-rumped Warbler on succulent

In December I photographed a Yellow-rumped Warbler on a succulent at Silver Strand that I thought would make a great colored pencil drawing.

I'm still working on my photorealism technique. This one is getting closer! I think it needs a bit more fine details, though. My plant drawing actually has more detail than what was visible in the reference photo (see below). In order to be realistic I have to get the proportions perfect. Unfortunately, I think I made the warbler's bill a touch too big and the eye a touch too small. That's something that you can't fix after you've started with the color.

Each drawing is just practice for the next one, or so I've been told.

Yellow-rumped Warbler on succulent. Prismacolor colored pencil. 2019. Greg Gillson

Putting in the background.

The flower stalk: first of many layers.

My reference photo.

The 10 most common backyard birds of San Diego, California

The following 10 species of backyard birds are the most frequent in the San Diego region. In fact, these 10 would be common backyard birds nearly anywhere in California away from mountains and driest deserts. From Redding south to Bakersfield, and San Francisco south to San Diego, it might be difficult to find a residential backyard where all these birds do not occur, year-round.

These birds, then, would certainly serve as an introduction to backyard bird watching in California.

Can you spot these 10 in your backyard? Which one is your favorite?

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1) Lesser Goldfinch

Male Lesser Goldfinch. Fallbrook, California. May 4, 2014.

Female Lesser Goldfinch. Forest Grove, Oregon. August 28, 2007.

The tiny Lesser Goldfinches like weedy fields with oak savannas where they eat small seeds. To attract them to your yard, hang up a "thistle sock" stocked with Nyjer seed.

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2) House Finch

Male House Finch. Imperial Beach, California. January 30, 2016.

Female House Finch. Escondido, California. June 20, 2018.

House Finches are found in residential areas and farms with scattered trees. To attract them to your yard put up a tube feeder with black oil sunflower seeds.

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3) Mourning Dove

Mourning Dove. Solana Beach, California. May 17, 2017.

Mourning Doves are birds of open residential and farmlands. To attract them to your yard feed sunflowers, cracked corn on a tray feeder. They nest in covered corners--carport beams, on porch lights, etc. Listen for their mournful crying song (boo, hoo-hoo) on spring mornings.

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4) Anna's Hummingbird

Male Anna's Hummingbird. Rancho Bernardo, California. January 21, 2018.

Female Anna's Hummingbird on nest. Cardiff, California. February 1, 2016.

These pugnacious little sprites love flowering plants and small insects. To attract them to your yard plant flowers and hang a hummingbird feeder with 4 parts water to 1 part table sugar. They nest very early, late December to March).

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5) Northern Mockingbird

Northern Mockingbird. Borrego Springs, California. January 7, 2018.

Mockingbirds hang out in residential areas with large dense shrubs. They eat insects and berries. They'll sing from telephone lines and low trees, nearly non-stop, day-and-night, all year long.

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6) California Scrub-Jay

California Scrub-Jay. Hillsboro, Oregon. April 21, 2010.

Jays are bold and brash and eat animals and vegetables as food. Because they are large and take lots of food away from the feeder to hide it for later (called caching), you may not want too many Scrub-Jays in your backyard. If you have an older field guide you may find this bird listed as Western Scrub-Jay.

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7) American Crow

American Crow. Newport, Oregon. April 20, 2008.

Frequently found in cities, crows are smart enough to get into nearly any kind of trash container to find human food scraps. In residential areas they may only visit during the day, flying off at dusk to roost in the hundreds in orchards or other dense patch of trees. They frequently gang up on hawks and owls, making a noisy mob.

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8) Black Phoebe

Black Phoebe. San Diego, California. May 10, 2015.

Frequenting quiet ponds and wet places, large expanses of grass lawns make a great substitute for this flycatcher that feeds on low-flying insect. Their sweet chip note, bobbing tail, and unfearing nature makes them a favorite backyard bird.

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9) California Towhee

California Towhee. Poway, California. April 8, 2018.

This large sparrow is rather plain brown. It will feed on sunflower seeds on a tray feeder or, more likely, on the ground under it. They hide under bushes in residential areas, kicking leaves with both feet to see what's under them. When they do this in your feeder they can scatter seed everywhere!

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10) Western Bluebird

Male Western Bluebird. Beaverton, Oregon. March 9, 2013.

Female Western Bluebird. Santee, California. October 11, 2013.

While they might be more abundant in an open oak woodland, Western Bluebirds don't mind putting up with residential human activities if there is an expanse of lawn or pasture they can search nearby for bugs. They also need a gnarled tree with a cavity to use as a nest. Placing a nest box on your property may make it more enticing, if there is ample lawn nearby.

Want more? Here are Another 10 common backyard birds of San Diego.
And... A Final 10 common backyard birds of San Diego.