We finally logged our first warbler of the year in the yard on April 16, 2023.  I had driven around the neighborhood photographing birds but returned home mid afternoon.  About 3:20pm I noticed a bird in the upper portion of our Golden Chain tree but it was backlit and I didn’t have a good view of it.  Its activity was ‘warbler-like” and as it moved into better view I saw its yellow/green color and was able to quickly identify it as an Orange-crowned warbler!  This was our first highly anticipated warbler visitor of the year!  I was able to quickly obtain a few mediocre photos.  The bird was interested in water features and flew down to our new bird bath.  Unfortunately there were many Golden-crowned sparrows in that immediate area and through their activity discouraged the warbler from loitering where I could get better photos.  

We have a pair of crows that are building a nest within sight of my photography perch in the yard.  I watch them harvesting sticks from surrounding trees and flying to a fir limb with particularly dense foliage.  The crows built a partial nest in the same place last year but unfortunately it fell to the side of the road before it was completed.  

I counted eight Golden-crowned sparrows in the yard today, but there were others in the surrounding bushes.  This is probably our most prolific year for that species.   These photos are of Golden-crowned sparrows among the Oregon grape bushes at the Cap Sante Overlook.  

In this next photo the sparrow is actually eating one of the blossoms of the Oregon grape!

As of yesterday we still had at least one White-throated sparrow visiting the yard.