Interesting day on Monday, May 27, 2019.  Seen initially from the house:  a male Western tanager (our first male of the year), a male Yellow-rumped (Audubon’s) warbler and a female Black-headed grosbeak, each of which was in the watercourse.  Sadly, I managed photos of only the warbler when it returned to the watercourse for a follow-up bath.  I spent most of the afternoon in the yard with my camera at the ready, but these birds all waited until I was in the house for their visits which occurred separated by long time intervals.  The tanager was seen just after noon. the warbler mid-afternoon and the grosbeak just after 7pm.

Here is the male Yellow-rumped (Audubon’s) warbler:

I had another ‘bonus’ this day… a female Northern flicker came down to the watercourse.  They aren’t rare in the yard, only in the watercourse.

This male Rufous hummingbird had a bath but was vanquished from the watercourse by other bird traffic.  He spent a minute or two preening on this branch before again being displaced.  It’s a tough life when you’re the smallest bird in the yard.

And finally, for those new to birding, here are two photos which show the differences between the Black-capped chickadee…

…and the Chestnut-backed chickadee…