In mid-September I took a trip to the Winthrop area, an area I usually visit in June.  I was prepared to be somewhat disappointed in the number of birds/species I saw but I don’t think I was quite prepared for my overall disappointment.  Not only were the bird species significantly down but the number of birds I saw was also disappointing.  The biggest success of the trip is that I found a new (small) area in which to bird, and that area at least, had a plentiful supply of birds.

I actually encountered this Stellar’s jay at Washington Pass on my way home, but decided to include it in this group of photos.

There were three areas I found where some berries, which I couldn’t/can’t identify, were attracting a large number of birds.  The first area I encountered was at a small park on a Davis Lake, due south of the Bear Creek Golf Course.  Berry trees there were attracting a large number of White-crowned sparrows.  These berries, even though they appeared ripe, were somewhat difficult for the birds to remove from the trees.  As a result the sparrows tended to eat the berries in place instead of trying to remove them from the trees to deal with them.  You can see that this sparrow is eating the berry as it is still attached by its stem, and in the upper left of the photo is a berry that has already been ravaged.  (Does that berry look juicy… or what?)

The other main berry tree was at the end of the Pearrygin Lake East State Park camping area and that tree was frequented by several different species of birds, although I only saw American robins actually eating the berries.

And this next series of photos were taken from a small fishing access road adjacent to Pearrygin State Park West, which was closed due to road maintenance during the time I was there.

It appears that all of the trees with berries are probably the same species and if anyone knows what they are I would appreciate you contacting me.

And finally, at the same location, I photographed this Orange-crowned warbler…