Origin date: 30oct2025
If you’re a birder, you’ll be disappointed by this brief article. If you’re clueless about the birds you see flitting past you every day in this little patch of Inland Southern California – I live in the San Bernardino-Redlands area of California – you might enjoy this brief account.
I first noticed the Western Bluebird in this area about 12-years ago. This seemed odd to me, as I’ve never been a birder, but I’ve always been fascinated by the local bird population. But it’s a beautiful little dusty-colored bird with some blue, some rust, and some grey. You can find more about them here: Western Bluebird. They are surprisingly common once you start looking for them. Keep an eye on wire fences surrounding vacant lots in town, and it won’t be long til you see one of these delightful little birds, midway in size between a sparrow and a mockingbird. You can find its close cousin, the Mountain Bluebird in the San Bernardino mountains – it’s on my list of local birds I’ve not yet seen.
If you’re ever near the Redlands Bowl, take a second to get out of your car for a look at these interesting little fellows. They like to hammer small holes into trees, and just east of the Bowl, and parallel with the front edge of the Bowl’s stage, you will find some palm trees whose trunks, even at the level of human eyes, are just stuffed with acorns pushed securely into small holes. It’s literally, only three or four steps off the sidewalk on Eureka St.
These birds are some real characters. They have one of the oddest familial structures I’ve ever read of – imagine multiple females laying eggs in the same nesting cavity, with said eggs fertilized by various males in the community. Yeah, you want to read about these guys! Acorn Woodpeckers
And about those acorns stuffed in holes in the trees? They don’t leave them in the same hole for the duration of their storage. Again, you want to read the Wikipedia article above. And trust me, they just get more fascinating the deeper you dive. They are social geniuses, and vicious, organized defenders of their territory.
If you’ve ever noticed a small (sparrow-ish sized) bird sitting on a low fence or bush, who appears to be dressed in a black tuxedo with a creamy, light grey shirt, you’ve seen the delightful Black Phoebe (fee-bee) Flycatcher. He sits attentively waiting for a flying insect to appear, and then in keeping with his swallow-like appearance, nabs it mid-air. It makes you wonder how he ever catches enough to supply his flight energy budget, but he does. I imagine, he (and she) sleep well at night, and do not lose any sleep planning what to do in their spare time. We humans think we work hard. Yeah, right. He’s a charmer, he’s everywhere in Inland Socal. Take a moment to appreciate him. All About Birds describes him as dapper. That’s just the word I would have used above had my geriatric brain been able to retrieve it a bit more quickly as I was writing. Black Phoebe Flycatcher.
I just wanted to get started on this page. There are so many fascinating birds all about us in SoCal, most of them right amongst us downtown and in our yards. I’ll list just a few that I’ve seen,
Someone who knows much more than me about birds, a true birder, and whom I like a lot, reacted with a phrase on the order of, “Oh, those garbage birds!” when I mentioned some common bird, perhaps a House Sparrow or Finch, or a Starling. Her disgust was obvious. But I think if a House Sparrow was quite rare, folks would travel great distances, and wait long hours in miserable conditions to see such an exquisite creature. I choose to see him as exquisite, and he is.
If you have a backyard seed feeder close to a window, watch the interplay between House Finches and House Sparrows. Learn to appreciate the finely checkered back of the male house sparrow, and the exquisitely marbled cream and brown breast of the female House Finch. There is so much fascinating behavior to watch as these two species interact at the feeder, and on your lawn.
And as you watch them closely, you may find one day that you have White Crowned Sparrows feeding on the grass seeds in your backyard. These creatures which you may have passed off as just sparrows have a delightful decoration on their head. And it’s possible that they may have traveled over a thousand miles to be in your backyard. It’s complicated – some travel only a very short distance, and some make the long haul. There is a way to tell, but it’s subtle.
email small.ice6205@fastmail DAWT com