With the good weather we’ve had the last several weeks I’ve had more days to spend in the yard observing and photographing avian visitors.  I usually take somewhere around 150 photographs a day, throw away half of them and post five or six of the ones that are left.  However, since I don’t post a blog every day there are a lot of photographs you don’t get to see.

But enough of the administrative details and on to the birds.  On Tuesday (8/26/2014)  afternoon I observed a pair of mature Red crossbills 100′ or more above the ground.  As I watched, one and then the other flew straight down towards me and landed in a medium-sized madrone tree about 30′ in front of me.  I could barely see the female but before long, without knowing how it had happened, both birds apparently gave up entering the watercourse and left the yard.  I was very disappointed in that this was the first visit of anything other than juvenile crossbills this year.

On Wednesday afternoon my wife told me that, while I was taking a nap, a pair of crossbills had visited the watercourse.  I waited the rest of the afternoon with no successful sightings.

I was back out on Thursday and had two “first year” crossbills visit the watercourse and  was able to obtain photos.

I have had successful sightings (with photos) of Orange-crowned warblers on an almost daily basis.  Many of them are very bright and, from at least my point of view, are easily confused with Yellow warblers which are much rarer visitors to our house.  Here are some of the photos I’ve managed of Orange-crowned warblers, all taken on Thursday.

We’ve also had a rather shy female Western tanager visit the yard on an almost daily basis.  It’s obviously interested in the watercourse and the other bird activity in the yard but thus far it won’t leave the cover of the trees for the watercourse.

And while I wait for the rare visitors, I photograph some of our more mundane visitors.  We have two White-crowned sparrows which are apparently the product of this year’s breeding.  This is unusual for us in that this year was apparently the first in the past seven years that a pair has mated in the area, and unfortunately the first young that showed up with one of the adults was a Brown-headed cowbird!  I had given up hope for a successful breeding season until the two young sparrows appeared.

And finally, we have a pair of Anna’s hummingbirds with us and there is still a juvenile male Rufous with us.  The Rufous needs to get moving south!  Here’s the male Anna’s that tries to defend the single feeder we have out, the watercourse and the greater yard.  Click on this photo to enlarge it… the bird’s feathers are amazing!

I spent more time in the yard on Sunday, 8/25/2014 with good results.  I’m still having difficulty sorting out what are either some brightly-colored Orange-crowned warblers with no visible orange on their heads despite being photographed from various angles and what might be Yellow warblers.  That research will continue, but that has no bearing on my special Sunday visitor.

On Sunday I had about my third visit this summer from a vireo, and unfortunately it too is providing something of a challenge with regard to identification.  It’s either a Red-eyed vireo (with no evidence of a red eye!) or a Warbling vireo that seems to have the head shape of a Red-eyed vireo.  I’ve looked at three different references and I’m still having difficulty differentiating the two species, and in addition there’s the possibility that a current year hatchling has thrown itself into the equation.  So without at this point providing a positive identification, here is a welcome, but rare visitor to my yard…

And as long as I am on the subject of vireos, when I was in Texas in late spring (it felt like summer!) I photographed White-eyed vireos there.  It was one of my favorite birds with a mysterious and concerned “expression” always evident.  The bird had the habit of bathing by quickly flying into the water and then out again… too fast for me to photograph even at very high shutter speeds.  The vireo that was in my yard has the same habit.  I have never (in either location) seen one come down to the water and land for a bath.  The one that was in the yard on Sunday visited three different water features in the yard, but never landed at any of them.

I spent a relatively short time in the yard on Saturday (8/23/2014) but had multiple visits from two species of warblers, and at one point I had both species in the watercourse at the same time and had to decide on my priorities for photographs.  Here is a male Wilson’s warbler, still looking quite spiffy for a fall migrant…

And here are photos of the other species, an Orange-crowned warbler, looking quite different from its entry into the yard and in the middle of its bath… 

And finally, an interesting photo of a Black-capped chickadee.  We have a dead tree in the yard into which I have drilled some holes for feeding.  When I’m actively in the yard photographing I fill the holes with hulled sunflower seed to keep the bird activity up.  The chickadees and nuthatches love the arrangement.  In this photo a chickadee has just grabbed a seed and, as is there habit, is off to eat it elsewhere. 

Fall is just around the corner and I’m probably benefiting from the early aspect of the fall migration.  It’s this time of year that can be frustrating to birders to some extent, especially in regard to warblers… but also other species.  The bright spring breeding colors and plumage patterns are often fading and that can make fall visitors much more difficult to identify.  I used to tell my birding classes that you are the expert about what takes place in your own yard, but just about the time I think that there can’t be a bird that visits my yard that I can’t identify (after almost 30 years of birding) I’m left with a bagful of questions!

The photos on this blog are the culmination of several hours of sitting in the yard and observing our avian visitors.  You get to see the highlights of my efforts, but there is a lot of time spent just observing the usual species that frequent the yard… and waiting for the possibility of a few special birds that give me the opportunity to photograph them.

The afternoon of August 21, 2014 was spectacular from the point of view of both photography and visitors, but I’m left with more questions than answers.  I’ve got some great photos to share, but positive identifications are lacking so I’ll just give you my speculations and hope that some better birders than I can clarify some identifications.

With the foregoing preamble, I’ll show you a couple of photos of my first mystery guest.  This bird is probably a vireo, best bets being either a Red-eyed vireo or a Warbling vireo, both of which can apparently be found in Western Washington.  I would guess this bird is a juvenile… its lack of distinctive markings may make it impossible to get a positive identification. 

This next bird, which at the time I was photographing it I assumed was the first (male?) Yellow warbler observed in the yard this year, lacks any orange striping on it’s breast.  Sibley indicates that there is such a Northern variety and I’m assuming that this is one of them.  The bird spent the better part of a half hour (something I don’t normally get!) flying around the yard and investigating the watercourse.  As a result I have retained some 65 photos of the bird in various poses and perched in different locations!

Next up, what I assumed was an Orange-crowned warbler at the time I was photographing it, but in reviewing my photos I’m not so sure.  While this bird may look similar to the previous bird, The shape of it’s body was much more compact.  However this bird seems too bright for an Orange-crowned warbler, especially given that this is the end of the breeding season. 

And to perhaps add to the confusion, here is a photo of a female Western tanager that visited on the same afternoon.  This bird was larger than the previous two, had stripes on its wings and has a larger bill, so I am confident in this identification. 

Here is a photo of a White-crowned sparrow, possibly one of our first pair who have ever nested in the area but whose breeding season was marred by raising a single Brown-headed cowbird.  Sometimes the more you know about birding the sadder some of your observations can be. 

And finally, this season’s product of the successful raising of a Spotted towhee, in this instance taking a bath.  Unfortunately we also had a pair of Spotted towhees who also raised a Brown-headed cowbird. 

UPDATE:

It has been suggested to me that the vireo is a Warbling vireo, the first warbler is a Yellow warbler and the second bird is a “bright” Orange-crowned warbler.  It would be the most colorful Orange-crowned warbler I’ve ever seen, but the only other thing it could be would be another Yellow warbler and I’m fairly sure it was not one due to the compactness and body shape.  And a tip of the hat to all who attempted to help me with the mysteries!

We recently returned from a trip to British Columbia on which I took my good camera and lens, but mostly to no avail.  My biggest disappointment was missing out on photographs or Orcas we saw from one of the BC ferries.  And no thanks to the captain of the vessel, he not only failed to slow for the Orcas but failed to make any kind of announcement over the PA system.

I did take this photo of a gull taking off from the water.  The interesting thing about the photo is the pattern of light that occurred in the water as the gull took off.  There are two bright portions of water that closely resemble birds, but are not shadows per se.

Back in the yard again, here is a photo of what I believe to be a sub-adult male Rufous hummingbird that has not yet left on migration.  The mature males left on their migration many weeks ago.

We still have at least one male and one female Anna’s hummingbird in the yard, and these are photos of a male.  The Anna’s hummingbirds often overwinter with us and survive despite our occasional extended snows.  The second photo shows the male’s gorget when it catches the light… undoubtedly a formidable sight when it’s racing from the trees towards other birds.  

After seeing only one male Western tanager in the yard in the spring, we’ve had no sightings until lately.  Here are photos of two female Western tanagers.  Sibley notes that there are bright adults and pale adults, but I have no way of knowing if the paler bird is not the female product of this year’s breeding.

And finally, here are photos of a Chestnut-backed chickadee and a Black-capped chickadee.