All About the Birds
A Checklist of Birds Pattern & Yarn
Me and Catherine at Gauge Dye Works have created a new yarn and pattern inspired by the Victoria Natural History Society’s Checklist of Birds and some of the delightful birds we see around us.
Birds started this whole thing
As soon as Catherine and I decided to do a bird-based project I sent her a bunch of photos I’d taken of birds that had other feather colours besides grey or brown. That folder of images got her going, but she took it way further, getting tips from actual birders on colours and which birds we should highlight. You can read about her colour development process on her blog.
Since we settled on eight specific birds for this project, I want to give each of them a little bit of the love and admiration that they deserve, so this is a bird photography post! I’m going to go in knitting order, starting with the first bird featured at the toe of the first sock.
Steller’s Jay
By far our most popular bird (according to Catherine’s Instagram audience) was the Steller’s Jay. I was absolutely relieved and delighted to snap some photos of this very beautiful and curious bird in Tofino over the summer because I really wanted to have a photo to go with the socks! Plus, it’s just a special kind of joy to photograph a bird I’ve never captured before. I guess I’m a birder because I like checking things off a list.
Steller’s Jays can be seen in the Victoria area throughout the year, but they aren’t super common. Your best chance to see them around here is in September and October, so go out and look right now! (I saw some at East Sooke park just last weekend!)
A Steller’s Jay is perched on a rock with their beak pointed down as if they’re looking at something below and to their right. Their feathers are standing up in a fancy hair do on their head and shades of blue, black, and brown adorn the rest of their body.
Northern Flicker
Choosing colours to represent a Norther Flicker is a big challenge because they come in a bunch of different ones. The lovely individual I captured below has more yellow in the tail feathers than we ended up including in the sock, but lots of them have more red. This is just one way that a flicker can look. But admire those incredible spots, please! Wow!
Northern Flickers are a common bird all year around Victoria.
A Northern Flicker is perched on a dry, bare branch. They have brilliant orange and yellow tail feathers, a white chest with dramatic black spots all over it, a black cravat, and a soft blush red colour around their eye. They are exceptionally fancy!
Anna’s Hummingbird
I see Anna’s Hummingbirds on my patio a whole lot during summertime and I just never get over their tiny feet, perfect beaks, and adorable shiny feathers! They look like they’re changing colours as you see them from different angles and if you hear that clicky, buzzy, chirpy hummingbird noise, try looking at the tops of bushes and trees where there might be a branch sticking up. I often see them perched up there, yelling at somebody to get off their territory. These delightful creatures can be seen in Victoria at any time of year and it feels like magic every time. I’m pretty sure hummingbirds inspired belief in fairies.
An Anna’s Hummingbird perched on a lichen-dotted branch. He’s got a brilliant glittery pink head and tiny so-cute feet.
Varied Thrush
I have no photo of a varied thrush! I’m seen them plenty of times and am happy that they were included because the colours are absolutely worth it, but it’s definitely an important goal of mine to photograph this bird. Here’s ebird to show you how fancy it is.
Mallard
I think it’s great that Mallards are included because they’re so ubiquitous and so beautiful. They’re definitely an important Victoria region bird! But let’s just say what we’re all thinking, which is that lots of male mallards are jerks. If you don’t know, don’t look it up, you don’t want to know. But look at how gorgeous!
A male and female mallard are standing on a shoreline. Their feathers are brilliant shades of green, teal, brown, beige, white, and black.
Great Blue Heron
I’m sure this is my most photographed bird. They’re present at so many of the places that I love and they’re great at posing! They’re not like those tiny birds that flit away as soon as you see them. Herons are methodical hunters, so they’ll stay still in regal poses for ages, making it so easy to take a million photos of them. How to choose which one to show you? I’ve picked one, but please go look at this post that’s just all photos of herons to see more.
A great blue heron is striding purposefully through a lush garden of seaweed.
Rufous Hummingbird
These are our more elusive hummingbird. They’re really only present in the summer and sometimes hummingbirds move so quickly that it’s hard to get a good look at their colours. But these ones have wonderful reddish colouring that the Anna’s don’t. I’ve seen one total ever at our feeder and I’ve only photographed them a couple of lucky times and those times were from a distance. This is the tightest in I could get even with my big lens and a bit a of cropping. Getting a closeup is the next goal.
A tiny Rufous Hummingbird is delicately perched on the tippy top of a bare branch in front of a blue sky and green leaves.
American Goldfinch
This bird is such a treat to see! They’re just so darn cheery and I love the neon pop that they add to the socks! They’re around the Victoria region spring through fall, but they head out for the winter. I saw this one on a branch near the beach. You couldn’t miss it!
A bright yellow and black American Goldfinch is clinging to a bare branch in front of a blue sky.
That’s the Roundup
We like all the colours together, so Catherine designed the sock yarn to represent all eight birds in one very cheerful skein. That’s the Multi-Birds version. But if you really love one of these birds in particular (or you know some wonderfully weirdo birder who does!), you can also get yarn that just repeats the stripe sequence for the same bird. The pattern instructions tell you how to make both versions.
Once you’ve made Multi-Birds and Single-Bird socks, I’m excited to see some folks go stash busting to represent other birds!
Do you have a favourite bird we didn’t include? Tell me about it in the comments!
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