Camp Cougar Compendium of Birds
- Camp Cougar
- Apr 27
- 8 min read
Updated: Apr 30
All bird images on this page are courtesy of the All About Birds website, run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. While we have photographed many of these birds ourselves, the Cornell Lab images provide clearer identification for this compendium.
Some of the birds listed here are common year-round residents. Others stay only for the summer months. A few unusual visitors have appeared briefly, likely stopping to rest during migration. Each bird is marked with a key identifying its typical pattern of presence.
Blackbird, Red-winged 🌟
A striking black bird with vivid red-and-yellow shoulder patches, often seen perched on reeds or fence posts and heard giving its distinctive, musical conk-la-ree call.
🔭 Observations: 🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin on 6/13/2024 We have not seen this bird, so either Merlin is incorrect or we had one passing through. Ranch Reservoir would be a good habitat for them, and that's 1.1 miles away as the blackbird flies.
Bluebird, Western 🌟
A small, vibrant bird with deep blue plumage and a rusty orange chest, often spotted flitting through open woodlands, meadows, and orchards with a soft, cheerful chew-chew call.
🔭 Observations: 👀 Appeared for a few days in April, 2025 📷 I took a an idenditification photo
Chickadee, Chestnut-backed ✴️
A tiny, lively bird with a rich chestnut back and bold black cap, often heard delivering high-pitched chatter as it flits through dense woods.
🔭 Observations: 👀 Seen many times
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin, 6/12/2024
Dove, Mourning ✴️
A slender, soft-gray bird with a mournful, cooing call that drifts over fields and gardens in the quiet hours.
🔭 Observations:
👀 Seen many times. They typically sit under the bird feeder hoping to get stray seeds.
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin, 6/17/2024
Finch, House ✴️
A small, sturdy bird with brown-streaked feathers and, on males, a cheerful splash of red across the head and chest, singing bright, tumbling songs from rooftops and trees.
🔭 Observations:
👀 Seen many times
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin, 6/17/2024
Finch, Lesser Gold 🔄
A tiny, lively finch with bright yellow underparts and glossy black wings, often seen bouncing through the air with a lilting flight call.
🔭 Observations:
👀 Seen the variety on the left many tiiimes
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin, 9/4/2024
Flycatcher, Olive-sided ➡️
A robust flycatcher with a stocky build and dark flanks, known for perching upright on treetops and calling out its sharp quick, three beers! song.
🔭 Observations:
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin, 6/10/2024
Gnatcatcher, Blue-gray ➡️
A tiny, restless bird with soft blue-gray feathers and a long, twitching tail, buzzing through shrubs and trees with scratchy, nasal calls.
🔭 Observations:
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin, 6/10/2024
Grosbeak, Black-headed ✴️
A large-billed bird with a black head, cinnamon body, and bright white wing patches, often seen feeding on seeds and fruits in open woodlands.
🔭 Observations:
👀 Just a few, but they are common visitors to the bird feeder.
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin, 6/17/2024
Hawk, Cooper's ✴️
A sleek, crow-sized hawk with short, rounded wings and a long tail, known for its swift, daring pursuits of songbirds through the trees.
🔭 Observations:
👀 Seen this just once or twice. Seen the feathers left after catching a bird. Typically captures a bird at the bird bath.
Hummingbird, Anna's ✴️
A feisty, glittering bird with iridescent green feathers and, on males, a brilliant rose-pink crown and throat, often heard buzzing fiercely through gardens and woods.
🔭 Observations:
👀 Common visitor when flowers are blooming.
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin, 6/13/2024
Jay, Stellar ✴️
A bold, noisy jay with deep blue wings and a dramatic black crest, seen flashing through forests and sounding off with raspy calls.
🔭 Observations:
👀 Common visitor. Tend to raise several broods. Have seen nests.
👂 Quite noisy. They often call when we fill the bird feeder or a predator is around.
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin, 6/13/2024
Junco, Dark-eyed ✴️
A plump, neat sparrow with a gray hood and pale belly, often seen hopping along the ground and flashing white tail feathers when it flies.
🔭 Observations:
👀 Common visitor. There are flocks of them at time.
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin, 6/12/2024
Mockingbird, Northern 🌟
A slender, long-tailed bird famed for its endless, varied songs and mimicry, often heard singing day and night from open perches.
🔭 Observations:
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin, 5/14/2024
I'm not convinced of this identification. Although Mockingbirds are curious and sometimes stray from their normal habitat. They are common in San Jose, so it is quite possible it flew to the mountains for a day.
Nuthatch, Pygmy ✴️
A tiny, energetic nuthatch with a sharp bill and a quick, nasal call, often seen creeping up and down tree trunks in search of insects.
🔭 Observations:
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin, 12/8/2024
Nuthatch, White-breasted ✴️
A compact, active bird with a bold white face and breast, climbing tree trunks headfirst and uttering sharp, nasal yank-yank calls.
🔭 Observations:
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin, 9/9/2024
Owl, Great-horned ✴️
A large, powerful owl with tufted “horns” and a deep, resonant hoot, often seen or heard at dusk commanding the forest.
🔭 Observations:
👀 Comes out at night. Have seen it at the pond.
👂 On some nights we hear the soft hooting, often call and response with another owl. Owl calling tends to increase during moonlit nights.
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin, 4/20/2024
Owl, Pygmy ✴️
A tiny but fierce owl, barely larger than a sparrow, hunting small birds and mammals by day with surprising ferocity.
🔭 Observations:
👀 Have seen it in a tree by the shed, both with eyes and with night-vision goggles.
👂 Have heard its call, but it tends to stay at the far end of the property.
Picidae, Acorn Woodpecker ✴️
A colorful, clown-faced woodpecker with a red cap, black-and-white face, and loud, raucous calls, famous for storing acorns in communal granaries.
🔭 Observations:
👀 A regular resident.
👂 No mistaking its "Woody Woodpecker" type call. Can be quite noisy.
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin, 5/15/2024
Picidae, Hairy Woodpecker
A medium-sized woodpecker with crisp black-and-white plumage and a notably long, straight bill, commonly found foraging on mature trees by pecking and probing for insects.
🔭 Observations:
👀 We see this once in a while.
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin, 9/29/2024
Picidae, Northern Flicker ✴️
A handsome, ground-foraging woodpecker with spotted plumage and a flashing white rump, often giving a loud, laughing kleer call.
🔭 Observations:
👀 A regular resident, but we don't see it too often.
👂 Drums a lot in the spring.
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin, 2/21/2025
Pigeon, Band-tailed ✴️
A large, elegant pigeon with a soft gray body and a white crescent on the neck, gliding gracefully through forested hillsides.
🔭 Observations:
👀 Started showing up a few years ago when avian flu was killing them on the coast.
👂 Sounds like a pigeon. Squeaks when it flies, so it can't sneak up on anyone!
Quail, California Quail ✴️
A charming ground-dweller with a bobbing topknot and scaly plumage, moving in coveys and issuing gentle chi-ca-gocalls.
🔭 Observations:
👀 At least one couple shows up in the spring. On some years, they bring a brood of chicks by the pond daily until the chicks get bit. Enjoy hanging out in the lavendar.
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin, 5/14/2024
Raven, Common ✴️
A massive, glossy black bird with a thick beak and a deep, throaty croak, soaring acrobatically over mountains and woods.
🔭 Observations:
👀 Once in a while a few show up for a few days.
Robin, American ✴️
A familiar songbird with a warm orange breast and cheerful caroling song, often seen hopping across lawns and forest clearings.
🔭 Observations:
👀 Flocks migrate through in January. Then a few stick around through the summer.
👂 The morning and evening calls are wonderful, except when the bird starts singing outside the bedroom window at the crack of dawn. They can be loud!
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin, 6/3/2024
Siskin, Pine 🔄
A small, streaky finch with a touch of yellow in the wings, twittering energetically as it flocks in the treetops.
🔭 Observations:
👀 A bird feeder visitor.
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin, 4/18/2025
Sparrow, House ✴️
A chunky, gray-and-brown sparrow, often found bustling around human dwellings with a loud, chirping chorus.
🔭 Observations:
👀 A bird feeder visitor.
🎙️ Recorded and identified by merlin 4/18/2025
Tanager, Western ➡️
A brilliant bird with a flame-orange head and bright yellow body, lighting up treetops with a sweet, robin-like song.
🔭 Observations:
👀 A bird feeder visitor who showed up after we upgraded our seed mix and feeder.
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin, 5/14/2024
Titmouse, Oak ✴️
A sprightly gray bird with a perky crest and scratchy calls, flitting through oak woodlands in lively family groups.
🔭 Observations:
👀 A bird feeder visitor who showed up just a few years ago. Only a few are resident.
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin, 6/17/2024
Towhee, California ✴️
A large, plain brown sparrow with a rusty patch under the tail, usually heard scratching noisily in leaf litter before being seen.
🔭 Observations:
👀 We have at least two pairs. They favor the back porch and under the house.
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin, 5/14/2024
Towhee, Spotted ✴️
A boldly patterned sparrow with a black hood, white spots on the wings, and a rich, buzzy song from hidden thickets.
🔭 Observations:
👀 Enjoys the bird feeder. We see only a pair or so.
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin 5/15/2024
Vireo, Cassin’s ➡️
A modest, olive-gray songbird with a deliberate, sweet-sounding series of short phrases, moving methodically through the canopy.
🔭 Observations:
👀 Enjoys the bird feeder.
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin, 6/12/2024
Vireo, Warbling ➡️
small, drab songbird with a fluid, cheerful song that rolls through the trees in a long, melodic warble.
🔭 Observations:
👀 Enjoys the bird feeder.
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin, 6/3/2024
Vulture, Turkey ✴️
A large, dark scavenger with a bare red head and teetering flight, often seen circling lazily on warm air currents.
🔭 Observations:
👀 Up to 5 or 6 soar through the air on warm days when they can catch the current. We have not seen one on the ground.
Warbler, Orange-crowned ➡️
A tiny, olive-toned warbler with a faint orange crown patch, usually hidden, flicking through shrubs and singing a simple, descending trill.
🔭 Observations:
👀 Enjoys the bird feeder.
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin,5/15/2024
Warbler, Yellow-rumped ➡️
A lively little warbler with bright yellow patches on its rump, sides, and crown, fluttering through trees even in winter.
🔭 Observations:
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin 6/13/2024
Turkey, Wild 🔄
A hefty, striking bird with bronze iridescence and a fanned tail, striding through woods and fields in boisterous groups.
🔭 Observations:
👀 Males and females show up at different times of the year. They go to lower ground from November until February or so. Sometimes we see "teenage" turkeys with the females.
👂 Gobbling is loud! In Spring the males gobble everytime they hear a loud noise, like a door shutting. It's call the "shock gobble" and makes it difficult to hide in areas where they can be hunted.
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin 9/14/2024
Wren, Bewick’s ✴️
A small, busy wren with a bold white eyebrow and a long, expressive tail, pouring out rich, bubbling songs from dense shrubs.
🔭 Observations:
🎙️ Recorded and identified by Merlin 6/10/2024
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