Woodland Bird Cam

Location: Anderson Island, WA

This trail camera is set up between 2 ponds in our garden, along a stream that my husband modified over time to give the little birds more shallow spots to bathe. It has salal and huckleberries on one side and has a butterfly bush hanging over it, so it makes the birds feel safe and very effectively blocks my ability to take pictures with The Big Camera. It’s been very popular this summer!

We’re up to 25 species and counting. Some were expected, and quite a few were the first time for me to ever see some of these species. Our daily staples are robins, thrushes, towhees, song sparrows, chickadees, and juncos, and it’s been amazing to see the babies starting to come to the stream too.

American Robins

This robin showed up on the camera pulling dried grass for their nest for about a week. 3+ weeks later, a very small baby appeared at the stream…given the other families I’ve seen, the timing seemed decent that this might be the product of said nest-building. Very frequent visitor.

I believe this is one set of robin parents with two broods of juveniles. Prior to this, I had only ever seen single adult robins with perhaps a baby or juvenile in the stream. This was an amazingly lively party that just kept going for about 20 minutes!

I’m pretty sure this is the same family over the span of about 2 weeks…lots of fun bath time 🙂 Very frequent visitors.

Spotted Towhee

These guys bathe with enthusiasm! I put out some Cheerios for them (after checking they were safe) and the towhees lost their minds, including a little territorial grappling. The final segment is a juvenile, so it gives you a nice comparison. Very frequent visitors.

Dark-eyed Junco

The adults used to be so happy with their happy baths. Then the little ones showed up 🙂 This clip lets you hear the very high-pitched small-baby-junco noise they make when parents are still feeding them. It’s a very pervasive sound in July, and it was nice to see the source. The last clip has 3 little ones all bathing and playing. Very frequent visitors.

This was a fun clip of a junco family – mom and dad – and as the clip goes on, you’ll see three juveniles. A red-breasted nuthatch drops in to have a drink and then the mean-kid song sparrow tries to run everyone out at the end…all in 17 seconds!

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

These little ones throw a stream party multiple times a day. I hadn’t noticed their “hovering” behavior before this cam footage. I think these are first-batch chickadee babies from this year, but it’s hard to tell at this point. Very frequent visitors.

Song Sparrow

Ubiquitous as they are, I never get tired of watching the curious babies explore. Very frequent visitor.

Wilson’s Warbler

This adult came to wash his worm, and the juveniles are pretty adorable! Semi-regular visitors.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

I have never seen one in WA outside of this trail cam, so when I saw the first one, I was thrilled. It turns out that these guys have made us a regular stop! Frequent visitor.

Red-breasted Nuthatch

While most birds that visit seem to want to take a dip, the nuthatches seem more interested in taking a sip. Frequent visitor.

Hermit Thrush

Until I installed a trail camera, I had no idea that hermit thrushes were a constant denizen of my garden, especially at dawn and dusk. They are such enthusiastic bathers and this clip also shows a pretty awkward juvenile.

Brown Creeper

You can tell this little one is young, partially because its colors don’t look quite right yet, but also its general bumbliness. The adults are much more matter-of-fact. Semi-regular visitor.

Pine Siskin

The 3 babies at the end of this one were chatty and hilarious. Semi-regular visitors.

Black-headed Grosbeak

I always enjoy seeing grosbeaks and have only seen one juvenile on our property. This clip has 2 different males and I’m pretty sure the other is a juvenile that has visited a few times. Semi-regular visitors.

Black-throated Gray Warbler

I’ve only ever seen this guy on my trail camera. Infrequent visitor.

Orange-crowned Warbler

I don’t think I’ve seen them in WA, but I knew they were around. Infrequent visitor.

Pacific-slope Flycatcher

This little flycatcher only showed up a couple of times, but I’m always on the lookout!

American Goldfinch

I hear them, but I never see them, so seeing this guy was a treat. Only seen once.

Pacific Wren

I had to squint at this one because the bird was so tiny! Only seen once.

Red Crossbill

Each year, I’ve seen a red crossbill family once at our pond. So far, the cam has caught 3 visits. Infrequent visitor.

The red crossbill pair are becoming pretty regular visitors, sometimes multiple times a day.

Townsend’s Warbler

This was a first for me, and only seen on the bird cam. Infrequent visitor.

Species List (in order of sighting)

American Robin (daily)
Spotted Towhee (daily)
Dark-eyed Junco (daily)
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (daily)
Song Sparrow (daily)
Wilson’s Warbler (frequent)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (frequent)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (frequent)
Hermit Thrush (daily)
Brown Creeper (infrequent)
Pine Siskin (Semi-regular)

Black-headed Grosbeak (Semi-regular)
Black-throated Gray Warbler (very infrequent)
Orange-crowned Warbler (very infrequent)
Pacific-slope Flycatcher (very infrequent)
American Goldfinch (very infrequent)
Pacific Wren (very infrequent)
Red Crossbill (very infrequent)
Townsend’s Warbler (very infrequent)

Species seen but not yet posted with videos:

Golden-crowned Sparrow
Fox Sparrow (Sooty)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Varied Thrush
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Bewick’s Wren
Anna’s Hummingbird
Western Tanager
Steller’s Jay