We had another of our early fall windstorms on October 27, 2022. In the late morning I looked outside and saw about 20 American robins around the yard, most interested in one of our water features. I was monitoring activity to see if a Varied thrush might be mixed in with the robins but saw none.

We have a small stone birdbath around which 5-6 robins congregated. One of the robins in the middle of the bath was especially aggressive… here you see a photo of it threatening another robin which is preening.

As I gazed at the activity in the yard my attention was drawn towards a nondescript bird whose behavior indicated it was probably a warbler, and after watching it for a few minutes I decided it was probably a juvenile Yellow-rumped warbler. I went outside with my camera and managed to take many photos of the bird thanks to our various staging objects. Here are some of the photos…

My yard birding on Saturday, October 15, 2022, began about mid-morning when I returned from breakfast and counted at least nine Golden-crowned sparrows in the yard, probably a new record!  There were no other species of interest so I took a break. 

Around 1pm I looked out the window and saw a Golden-crowned kinglet around the watercourse so I headed back outside with my camera. Before long we had at least three in the yard and I suspected at least one more. I was able to take many photos of the birds. 

During the kinglets’ incursion a Pacific wren entered the yard and eventually ended up traveling along the side of the watercourse. I switched my attention to it since photos of the wren are harder to come by. 

Shortly after the Golden-crowned kinglets left a Ruby-crowned kinglet entered the yard, but I was only able to obtain a ‘record’ shot of it. I had a second visit about an hour later but fared even worse, getting no photo. 

About an hour later we had another visit from three Golden-crowned kinglets. On this visit all three discovered wet leaves on our madrone trees ( from my banishing squirrels from the yard) and they opted to take ‘leaf baths’ instead of visiting the watercourse. 

During my observations I saw the Spotted towhee with the crossed beak that I had photographed several days previously.  (no photo.)

We’ve had several visits by Anna’s hummingbirds visiting the yard, and most seem to be males. Even though there were a couple of intervening branches, I liked this photo…

During most of this time I was kept company by one of our Townsend’ chipmunks which has yet to hibernate for the winter. It profits from sunflower seeds broadcast for the birds and its own special supply of diced peanuts. 

I was just getting ready to give it up about mid-afternoon when I thought I saw a woodpecker fly to one or our medium-sized fir trees in the yard. It wasn’t of much interest (Downy woodpeckers are common in the yard and this bird was not within acceptable photographic range)… when I noticed it had a dark red head!  This was a Red-breasted sapsucker, a very rare yard visitor!  I tried to take some photos of the bird but it was mostly hidden by the trunk of the tree. It flew after a minute or so, and unfortunately, instead of flying further into the yard it flew to the woods to the south of us. 

Fall migration has slowed, but we still have a few interesting birds trickling through. 

On October 5, 2022, we had a Yellow-rumped warbler stop by for a bath in the watercourse. This was probably a female and/or a first year juvenile judging by its muted plumage. It was generous with its time, allowing me many opportunities for photos. 

On October 07, 2022, we had another Hermit thrush enter the yard. I thought I had gotten a really good photo, but when I was processing my photos and got to what I thought was my best photo I found it was heavily horizontally banded in colors, something I had never experienced with any camera. However the thrush made its rounds of the yard and I obtained several good photos, including this one.

On October 8, 2022, I finally obtained a photo of a Golden-crowned kinglet. I had been seeing a very few but was having a difficult time obtaining a photograph because they weren’t coming down to the watercourse. On this day one made a very brief visit and I obtained a photo.

I typed the following paragraph while viewing the Seahawks (RIP) game…

“What’s missing so far… Brown creepers (not migratory) which haven’t visited in many months and Ruby-crowned kinglets. Our next “first of season” visitor is likely to be a Varied thrush, but that’s probably not going to happen until the Cascades get snow which will drive them down from the mountains.  We desperately need precipitation… even native plants in the yard are suffering.“

Less than an hour later I was freshly outside with my camera when I detected movement of a larger bird in one of our fir trees. I didn’t have a clear view but managed to see enough to identify a male Varied thrush. I took a “record” photo… a photo I could use to confirm I’d seen the bird. If you’re wondering what a record photo might look like, I’m including it here…

I really disappointed when I miss the opportunity to obtain a photo of a first seasonal occurrence for the yard, but I wasn’t to be disappointed this day. The bird made its rounds of the yard and finally descended to the watercourse for a lengthy drink, in essence making my day!

A short time later a female or juvenile Varied thrush male a brief appearance but I was unable to obtain a photo of it.

In my last post (from the wee hours of this morning) I mentioned the leucistic Song sparrow I had seen on three occasions in Washington Park. I returned to the park just after 10am this (October 6) morning in my second attempt to obtain a quality photo of the bird. After about half an hour the bird made about a one-minute appearance before it was chased from my view by a second Song sparrow. I obtained four photos, only one of which was of any quality. I waited about another hour and a half before giving up on the birds’ return. So I now have about four hours into this one photo!

It wasn’t all lost time. A Pacific wren (separated as a distinct species from the Winter wren in 2010) made two appearances and I managed a couple of photos of it. These birds aren’t particularly easy to find, much less photograph, so I was grateful for the opportunity.

We’re somewhat slowly easing into our fall weather season with an extension of unseasonably warm weather. I worry about the lack of rain as it seems to be stressing even some of our native plants. Over the past few years we’ve lost a large number of madrona trees around the Cap Sante Overlook and the meager summer/fall rainfall must be adding to the trees’ stress. 

Somewhat lower down “The Cap” we have at least 6-8 Golden-crowned sparrows visiting the yard (first arrival was September 14). 

Somewhat uncharacteristically, we have at least one adult and three first-year juvenile  White-crowned sparrows. (In past years this species has been heavily parasitized by Brown-headed cowbirds.) 

Dark-eyed (Oregon) juncos are beginning to arrive and will be our most numerous winter race, House sparrows and a possible eruption of Pine siskins excepted.  I marvel at the perfection of this species’ feathers… I believe you can double-click on the image to view it in more detail.

On October 4 we had two “first of the season” birds visit the yard. The first, a very common bird for the region, and especially in Washington Park where I take morning walks, was a Song sparrow.  It’s the sixth sparrow species currently found in our yard (and one of the eight sparrow species we’ve hosted this year!  

And while I’m on the subject of Song sparrows, while on my morning walks I’ve discovered a leucistic Song sparrow in Washington Park. The bird has a very obvious white crown.  I’ve nailed down its morning location (three sightings) but in a two-hour afternoon wait (with my camera) on October 3, it failed to show. 

The other “first of season” species we had visit was a Golden-crowned kinglet, a species once fairly common in the yard but now mysteriously absent for the last year or more. I had spent a couple of hours in the yard and just come inside for the day when I looked out the window and spied the visitor in a Japanese maple tree just outside the window. I grabbed my camera and managed a couple of “record shots” before seeing the bird leave the yard. 

On a personal note, I’ve now had my annual flu vaccination and my fifth (!) Moderna COVID vaccination, which I hope will adequately protect me for the coming winter birding season.