My last post chronicled the flood of migrants we had on April 24, 2024. I was hoping that would open the migration floodgates, but sightings of migrants since that time have been rather paltry. I did have a few migrants come through on April 30, 2024, and it’s photos from that day you’ll see in this post.

I first want to mention a sighting of a Swainson’s thrush, seen bathing in one of our water features on April 27. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to obtain a photo of it.

This is the only Yellow-rumped warbler (a male) I’ve seen since April 24…

This was our first, and so far only, Wilson’s warbler seen to date. I’ve long considered this the most common warbler migrant passing through our yard, so I’m expecting more. This is a male…

So far this year this is our most common migrant, an Orange-crowned warbler, of which we’ve had several. It’s usually difficult to see the species’ orange crown, but in this case the orange crown is revealed with the bird’s bath.

The last of two male Varied thrushes finally left the yard to return to the mountains on or about April 27. I had begun to worry that it would hang on through the summer but nature finally took its course.

We seem to have now lost all but one of our Golden-crowned sparrows, of which we had at least a dozen in and around the yard this winter.

This is another bird that will soon be rare until it returns next fall… a male (you’ll have to take my word for it!) Golden-crowned kinglet.

And finally (I’ve previously warned there’s always a ‘finally’), a male California quail, a common resident year-round. There have been no signs of chicks yet but I expect them soon as the male is adopting guardian behavior.