Photo ABCs

Brown-headed Cowbird

Brown-headed Cowbirds are not many people's favorite birds due to their nest parasitism (laying their eggs in the nests of other birds).

Here is one photographed in Big Bear, California, in July of last year.

Brewer's Sparraow

A Brewer's Sparrow, photographed at Mono Lake in June, 2014.

Bewick's Wren

A Bewick's Wren, photographed at Mono Lake in October 2014.

Sage Thrasher

A Sage Thrasher, photographed in Sierra Valley, California, in June 2014.

Swainson's Thrush

A Swainson's Thrush, photographed at the Silver Saddle Resort east of California City, in May 2017.

Black-headed Grosbeak

Time to leave Minnesota, and warm up a bit!

Here is a Black-headed Grosbeak, photographed in Idyllwild, California, in July of last year.

Black-backed Woodpecker

The Black-backed Woodpecker is found mostly in Canada and a few northern states, though its range extends into the Sierra Nevada in California.

Here is one in the Sax-Zim Bog in Minnesota.

On my last morning in Minnesota, this male (note the yellow cap) woodpecker spent thirty minutes searching for food in trees just a few feet from me. It was a special experience, and I took way too many photos!

Boreal Chickadee

The Boreal Chickadee, as the name suggests, is found in the boreal forests of Canada and Alaska, and the northernmost of the 48 United States.

Here is one photographed at the Sax-Zim Bog in Minnesota, on New Year's Day, 2019.

Minnesota Train

A cold, snowy day in the Sax-Zim Bog in Minnesota.

Photographed on New Year's Eve of last year.

Canada Jay

One more Canada Jay (Gray Jay), perched on a carcass (of an undetermined species!)

Carcasses are placed at some of the bird-feeding stations in the Sax-Zim Bog, giving the birds an excellent source of protein and fat, but certainly not providing a photogenic perch... There was  no danger of the carcass spoiling, as the temperature while I was there never exceeded 20 degrees fahrenheit (it was well below zero much of the time).