Atop a knoll outside of the San Bernardino Mountains, avid photographer and birder Herman Paulk has been FeederWatching since 1994 and tracking wildlife observations for over twenty-four years. Herman has recorded eighty-seven species that have visited his site, many of which he has captured in photographs. 

“We always have a camera available,” he says.

Herman and his wife live in the north end of San Bernardino, California, just below Devil’s Canyon.  At an elevation of 1,700 feet, their home has a grand view of the San Bernardino Mountains beyond their backyard, making their site a natural pathway for a wide variety of birds and other wildlife passing through the area.

Wildlife Sanctuary

Years ago when Herman built his present home, he remembers, "one could not help but be interested in the wildlife."

At that time, he says, "it was a very remote area with abundant wildlife all around...[and] just a few homes scattered to the north, along with large abandoned grape vineyards. Now, most of the land has been developed..."

High above the surrounding housing developments, Herman and his wife have turned their property into a wildlife sanctuary.

Herman described the site as having very limited vegetation, except for a small Japanese Pine growing in the front yard. For cover, he provides a wood pile raised up on cement blocks that serves as a safety zone for the birds. He says, "The birds and rabbits use the area under the woodpile for refuge from hawks and from the heat of the day…There is no grass in our yard, just the natural earth which we keep free of any weed growth.”

On September 16, 1993, the National Wildlife Federation awarded the Paulks a Certificate of Achievement for the establishment and maintenance of a Backyard Wildlife Habitat.

Visitors

The Paulks eat their meals in front of the patio door to be entertained by visiting birds and rabbits. Most days, House Sparrows, House Finches, White-crowned Sparrows, Mourning Doves, Redwing Blackbirds, Brown-headed Cowbirds, California Towhees, Lesser Goldfinches, Lark Sparrows, and California Quail are regular visitors to their count site.

Occasionally, Greater Roadrunners, Western Scrub-Jays, California Thrashers, Northern Mockingbirds, and Eurasian Collared-Doves stop in to feed. The most unusual bird to visit was a Pin-tailed Whydah, which Herman says must have escaped from someone’s cage.

As homes and industrial buildings develop around their property, Herman says their site has become a “haven to the bird population as a source of food and water.” Unfortunately, he says, “predators also find it a great source for their next meal.”

Predators

Cooper’s and Sharp-shinned hawks frequently scout out Herman's property for a good meal, but he says his feeder birds are constantly alert:

"Almost anything can set the birds into panic flights. If it is a false alarm, they all return in just what seems a few moments. When it is a true attack, the birds stay away long after the threat is over. This pattern can go on for hours. Later in the day the threat is less, as the hawks have usually satisfied their needs.”

Birds take sanctuary in an area Herman created out of cement blocks, boards, and chain link fencing, designed specifically to offer shelter and safety for the wildlife in his yard.

He says, “With daily attacks by the hawks, it has caused other bird species to change their habits of visiting our feeder site…Now, because of the frequency of hawk attacks, quail come in much smaller numbers and stay for only a short time. They usually stay close to the sanctuaries and are ready to flee instantly.”

“When they visit, they first sit on the fence for a while checking out the yard thoroughly. If they do not like what they see, they leave without visiting the feeding stations. If [they] do come…they stay close to the sanctuaries and leave within a short time.”

“We also have a Merlin that likes to hide out in the Japanese Pine in the front yard to attack birds,” he says. American Kestrel and Red-tailed Hawks have made appearances, often swooping in after young rabbits.

Herman has also witnessed a Loggerhead Shrike claiming a small bird and chasing field mice through his yard.

“The coyotes come around our site every once in a while. I see them mostly in the early morning hours. I do my exercises in the early morning looking out our glass window and that is when I usually see them.”

Favorite Bird

Of all the feeder birds, Herman's favorite is the California Towhee, which he says has “more character than any other bird,” because they always seem to be happy and tend to shy away from the crowd of other birds. Towhees are “a very curious bird,” he says, “whenever I am doing any work in the yard, they are usually around to check out just what I am up to.”

When a small snake crawled into one of their planters, Herman observed as “the towhee got up to where the snake was and watched it, tilting its head several times, until the snake disappeared into the planter.”  

“These birds have a great personality,” he says, “they are always very perky, hopping about with their tail snapping, and they like to sing.”

Herman enjoys watching them do what he calls the “Towhee Shuffle” when they scratch for seeds, and he gets great entertainment seeing them chase their young through his wood pile.

During these early hours, he observes White-crowned Sparrows making their early rounds to feed—a technique he says they have learned to avoid predator attacks in the daylight.

Watching from his dining room table through the glass sliding door to the backyard, Herman mounts his digital camera on a table top tripod and says he is “always ready to take pictures when the right opportunity comes along.” For five or six hours a day, he watches and waits with the camera for photo opportunities:

“The one thing FeederWatch does for me—it gives me an excuse to sit most of the day when I do my count and watch for good bird and animal pictures. Otherwise, I would feel like I’m wasting time, but this way, while I am waiting for good pictures, I’m also counting birds.”

In all of his years of FeederWatching, Herman says one thing is for certain, “change is constant.” Like the birds, Herman adapts to the changes that affect his area.

Since panic flights make it difficult for him to get an accurate bird count, when a large flock arrives, Herman takes a picture before they can fly off: “With a digital camera I can put this picture into the computer and make a print, then easily count the numbers of birds present and have a permanent record for that count day."