On Friday, 8/23/2019, I was in the kitchen and looked out the window to see a relatively drab bird bathing in the watercourse. I was fairly sure it was a warbler so ran and retrieved my camera and eased into my photography post. The bird flew but I was able to take a few photos of it in our madrone grove. (Note the white on the tail.)

The bird returned to the watercourse and I was able to get several good photos of it. It wasn’t until I processed the photos that I was able to make a tentative identification. (It didn’t help that all the photos I obtained were taken after the bird had already started bathing!) I believe it is a juvenile Yellow-rumped warbler. The Audubon’s race is much more common in our yard, but Sibley notes that the juveniles of both races (Audubon’s and Myrtle’s) are similar. (If anyone has other ideas I would be glad to hear them!)

Since we had almost no warblers in the yard in the summer months, I hope that two warbler species in two days might signal the beginning of the fall migration.