The Flickr Birdsofmadronamarsh Image Generatr

Kudos to the birders who figure out who these drifters are and then take the trouble to help other birders find them.
This guy was way off his patch.
"While today’s vagrant might be tomorrow’s model citizen, destined to become a colonizer and perhaps an established resident, as Grinnell (1922) asserted, most vagrants might be viewed as “failed colonization attempts”. Newton (2008: 267–299) summarized quite well the various explanations of the causes of vagrancy put forward over the past century or so. They include: normal dispersal over long distances, population growth or expansion, drift by winds, migration overshoots, deviant directional tendencies (right time but wrong direction), mirror-image migration, and reversed direction migration. While all explanations probably play a role and explain the occurrence of some vagrant individuals, we address the latter three explanations as they likely involve the vast majority of landbirds. The mirror-image misorientation theory, originally developed by DeSante (1973), and described by Diamond (1982), proposed that vagrants are misoriented by confusion of right and left in relating an inherited migration direction to a compass reference direction. Mirror-image misorientation theory accounts for observations made by DeSante (1983a) that in certain situations large-angle misorientations seem more frequent than small or intermediate deviations from the normal migration course (Alerstam, 1990). Misorientation by the wind has long been suggested as a cause of accidentals (Austin, 1971), but Thorup et al. (2012) found differently, as the authors used radio telemetry to track individual migratory flights of several species of songbirds from the Faroe Islands, approximately halfway between Norway and Iceland, far west of their normal migration route. Birds with expected easterly and south-easterly migration direction departed westward out over the Atlantic Ocean, indicating that these birds are actively flying in the “wrong” direction and that their occurrence is not caused by wind drift. However, on Attu Island, in the Aleutian Islands off Alaska, Hameed et al. (2009) found statistical evidence that the occurrence of spring Asian vagrants on this North Pacific island were correlated with storm winds from the west."
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6305120/

In a blink, the eye sends data to the brain. Is this a friend, a foe, something to eat, or something to ignore.... or something to play with?

So here's a fun tidbit. Some critters have oil droplets as part of their vision light filtration system.
"Bird eyes have a rich set of photoreceptor cells, consisting of rods, double cones and single cones, which endows birds with visual capacities far beyond that of humans. The four classes of cone photoreceptor cells (stay awake, OK?) mediate a tetrachromatic colour vision system covering a wide range of wavelengths, from the ultraviolet to the red. Each of the four participating cone photoreceptor classes has a different visual pigment, and in addition,
each contains a small
optical device,
the so-called oil droplet. "
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

This day W9 and I find our celebrity slumming with his American cousins.
"The European Goldfinch is a very common finch seen throughout all of Europe. These goldfinches have been reportedly seen on a regular basis in North America. Because it is a known captive bird kept by pet stores, they are not recognized as wild birds. "
birdsofnorthamerica.net

There is no lack of great sounding sparrow ID courses. Here's a snippet from one:

"To flush the birds from their hiding places, he (Tim Keyes) and his fellow co-leader, ornithologist Gene Keferl, brought along a 60-foot rope with weights attached in the middle. During our field sessions, they dragged the rope length-wise through the dense marsh grass of a salt marsh and through the tall weeds of an old field to get the sparrows to come out."

I just think that's hilarious.

"As far as color terms go, vermilion is a winner, reeking of exoticism and antiquity. As fine as this color feels tripping off the tongue, it’s even easier on the eyes. Vermilion refers to a specific shade of reddish-orange washed with ashy gray, reminiscent of an overripe beefsteak tomato. This is the pigment derived from cinnabar, which is both the natural ore of mercury and another word worth working into conversation whenever possible. ..."
1000birds.com

ebird.org/checklist/S61177442?view=photos

Elegant in manners, well-bred, courteous, refined; free from vulgarity. Does not hang upside down or from one foot while eating. Does not sing with his mouth full. Poised. Polished. Does not let his tail feathers hang out or shake them.
Remember, forks go on the left, with the salad fork first, and then the dinner fork beside the plate. On the right side of the plate, the knife, appetizer or salad knife, spoon, soup spoon, and oyster fork. Don't panic, the dessert fork will arrive with the sweet trolly.

I am always happy to hear and see these tiny beauties.
"The non-native non-migratory Nutmeg Mannikin, also known as the Scaly-breasted Munia or the Spice Finch, has been added to the California Bird Records Committee State List. The listing has proved somewhat controversial, as the species is endemic to Asia.
Reports place the first discovered "wild" birds as three young fledglings in a nest at Cocoa Beach, Florida in 1964 , the species was, and continues to be a popular pet store bird and the "wild" birds most likely the offspring of escaped caged birds. In California, the species is prominent in the river drainages of Los Angeles and Orange counties. The bird's status as a companion was likely decided by its social behavior which is often described as gregarious, which coincidentally often prompts the bird to seek escape. The listing is causing excitement and a healthy discussion about the place of introduced species in the world of birding."
ca.audubon.org

"The Blue-gray Gnatcatcher is the northernmost-occurring species of gnatcatcher, and the only truly migratory one. Most members of its genus are resident in Central and South America." allaboutboids
I hope everyone is safe on this Friday the 13th/Harvest Moon.

"The first step in determining what species of young bird you see is to be sure it is, in fact, a juvenile bird. Some adult birds look similar to fledglings, but these characteristics can help you be certain that you are seeing juvenile birds.
Bill Size: Juvenile birds often have bills that seem proportionally too large for their head. This is because their heads have not fully grown and their feathers are not yet covering the edges of the bill, making it seem larger.
Feather Length: Young birds have not grown full flight feathers, and the feathers on their wings and tail will be noticeably stubbier than on adult birds. The feathers on their breast, flanks, and abdomen may also seem fluffier and less organized than those of adult birds, not only because they're not fully grown, but also because young birds do not preen as effectively as adults. Some feathers may be so underdeveloped that the birds even show bare skin, especially on the face.
Color: Many juvenile birds have drab, dull plumage similar to that of an adult female. As they molt, their feathers may have additional speckles, buff edges, or other disorganized colors that help camouflage them until they can fly skillfully.
Eye Size: Very young fledglings and nestlings have bulging eyes that seem too big for their head. This should not be strongly noticeable in birds that are ready to leave the nest, but if the birds were displaced very early their eye size can indicate their youth.
Behavior: Young birds often try to draw the attention of their parents. They may beg for food or flutter their wings, especially when near adults. They may also be uncertain in flight or may visit feeders but seem unsure of how to eat what is offered. It should be noted, however, that many juvenile behaviors, including fluttering and begging, are similar to the courtship of adult birds. Behavior alone is not a sure indication of whether or not a bird is juvenile, but it can be a valuable clue."
thespruce.com

" The Green Heron is one of the few tool-using birds. It commonly drops bait onto the surface of the water and grabs the small fish that are attracted. It uses a variety of baits and lures, including crusts of bread, insects, earthworms, twigs, or feathers."
naturemappingfoundation.org

ebird.org/view/checklist/S57261301

"The non-native non-migratory Nutmeg Mannikin, also known as the Scaly-breasted Munia or the Spice Finch, has been added to the California Bird Records Committee State List. The listing has proved somewhat controversial, as the species is endemic to Asia.

Reports place the first discovered "wild" birds as three young fledglings in a nest at Cocoa Beach, Florida in 1964 (OGDEN, J. C., AND H. M. STEVENSON. 1965. Regional reports: Florida Region. Audubon Field Notes 19:534-37), the species was, and continues to be a popular pet store bird and the "wild" birds most likely the offspring of escaped caged birds. In California, the species is prominent in the river drainages of Los Angeles and Orange counties (National Geographic Society. 1999. Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 3rd. ed. Natl. Geogr. Soc., Washington). The bird's status as a companion was likely decided by its social behavior which is often described as gregarious, which coincidentally often prompts the bird to seek escape. The listing is causing excitement and a healthy discussion about the place of introduced species in the world of birding." Daniela Odgen
ca.audubon.org

"The Black Phoebe is a relatively unwary bird and is happy to inhabit backyards and build its mud nest on the side of a house or garage. It likes bridges as well which gave it its colloquial name of “bridge pewee”. It just has to have some sort of overhanging ledge like a railing or gutter. Unlike many birds, the Black Phoebe is increasing in population because of its tolerance for human activities and structures. The only limiting factor is appropriate nest sites. Everyone is familiar with bird houses, but these only attract hole-nesters such as bluebirds and wrens. You can provide a nest platform for Black Phoebes, which will also work for Robins and others.
I am reminded of Phoebe Snetsinger. Birdwatchers are a competitive bunch, trying to see how many species they can see in a lifetime and Phoebe is an icon. Phoebe was not an avid birdwatcher until she was diagnosed with cancer in 1981. Instead of convalescing at home, she took to traveling the world watching birds. Independently wealthy and with her cancer in remission, she birdwatched until she was killed in an auto accident in Madagascar in 1999. At the time of her death she had seen 8,400 species of birds in the wild, more than anyone else at that time. Snetsinger’s memoir, Birding on Borrowed Time, was published posthumously in 2003. An unusual Phoebe, indeed. I don’t know who holds the record now and it’s all on the honor system anyway." Dr. Roger Lederer
ornithology.com


ebird.org/view/checklist/S55542698

"Tangled up in blue...."
"Western Bluebirds have a gentle look, but territory battles can get heated. Rival males may grab each other’s legs, tumble to the ground, and then pin their opponent on the ground, stand over him, and jab at him with his bill."
Bob Dylan and allaboutboids
ebird.org/view/checklist/S54703296

"One of the most abundant birds across North America, and one of the most boldly colored, the Red-winged Blackbird is a familiar sight atop cattails, along soggy roadsides, and on telephone wires. Glossy-black males have scarlet-and-yellow shoulder patches they can puff up or hide depending on how confident they feel. Females are a subdued, streaky brown, almost like a large, dark sparrow. Their early and tumbling song are happy indications of the return of spring." allaboutboids

"This genteel flycatcher tips its head side to side with seeming curiosity while perched among low oaks and mesquite trees. It is a die-hard bird of dry places that doesn't need to drink water; it gets all it needs from the insects and spiders it eats." allaboutboids
ebird.org/view/checklist/S54703296

"Winter food of the birds that remain within our borders probably consists largely of insect eggs and pupae, the known prey of the chickadees and kinglets with which the gnatcatcher associates at that season.

Food-table offerings seem seldom to attract this species; in fact, I am able to find but a single instance of it, and that in winter. Mrs. Andrew L. Whigham, who maintains an all-year feeding station in her garden in extreme western Florida, writes: "In January and February, 1933, for six or eight weeks, two of these birds used our feed shelves. They ate the inevitable cornbread [a saltless recipe of Mrs. Whigham's, baked in quantity for the birds and proven to be as attractive to most species as cracked sunflower seeds] and the commercial mockingbird food mixed with grated carrot.""
birds by Bent

"It’s often the gnatcatcher’s twangy, whining call—like a miniature banjo being tuned—that alerts us to its presence. Its song is a sputtering, wheezy, petulant-sounding jumble, punctuated by mews. The blue-gray gnatcatcher has been recorded mimicking other species, a talent not widely appreciated, perhaps because its high, whispery voice is beyond the hearing register of many bird watchers. "
Birdwatchersdigest.com

"C. J. Maynard (1896) immortalized it in this beautiful passage:

I heard a low warbling which sounded like the distant song of some bird I had never heard before. . . . And nothing could be more appropriate to the delicate marking and size of the tiny fairy-like bird than this silvery warble which filled the air with sweet, continuous melody. I was completely surprised, for I never imagined that any bird was capable of producing notes so soft and so low, yet each one given with such distinctness that the ear could catch every part of the wondrous and complicated song. I watched him for some time, but he never ceased singing, save when he sprung into the air to catch some insect.

Other observers and writers, however, do not seem impressed by its beauty. F. H. Allen writes that the song of this species is "scrappy, formless, leisurely, and faint, and is delivered somewhat in the manner of a Vireo while the bird flits about among the branches. [He] found the phrase pirrooeet occurring frequently in it." A. A. Saunders regrets that he cannot describe the song in detail, since his collection of sound records "contains only a few fragments from a single bird. The song is long continued, of greatly varied rapid notes and trills, on a high pitch, and of a squeeky or nasal quality. It is more curious than beautiful."
Birds by Bent

"The non-native non-migratory Nutmeg Mannikin, also known as the Scaly-breasted Munia or the Spice Finch, has been added to the California Bird Records Committee State List. The listing has proved somewhat controversial, as the species is endemic to Asia." audubon

Not rare. Not native. Newly countable and extremely cute.

"The bird has nothing to do with nutmeg, nor is it found where nutmeg comes from. [Maybe it is nutmeg-colored. But that's not a real color. It's a made-up color. The only real colors are those original 8 in the Crayola box. As a kid, my family evidently couldn't afford the 64-color box for me, or the unbelievable 128-color box, so now I refuse to recognize any other colors. This bird is brown (or close enough).]"

sandiegogreg.blogspot.com

"In general, I think it’s undignified to name a species a “least” this or a “lesser” that—but Lesser Goldfinches are in fact lesser than American Goldfinches in just about every way. Lessers are about half an inch shorter than Americans, and their range in this country is much smaller. They’re restricted to West Texas, the coast of California, and the Four Corners states in the breeding season, but are common throughout Mexico and dip into South America. (A century ago, bird books called it the "Arkansas Goldfinch," but it was named for the headwaters of the Arkansas River in Colorado, and not for the state of Arkansas, where it would be a rare find.)

Aesthetically, the Lesser Goldfinch is sort of a toned-down version of the American: the yellow’s a little less bright, and there’s some additional black on the back—or greenish black, depending on where you are. Black-backed males are common from Texas to Colorado, while most males farther west are green-backed. Scientists have argued for years about whether the different looks reflected different subspecies or just color morphs."audubon