On September 20, 2024, I was sitting in my office and glanced out the window to see a Yellow-rumped warbler flying around the watercourse. I went for my camera but by the time I got to the yard the warbler had departed.

I decided to sit outside for a while but for some time things were very slow. I did get a couple of more glimpses of a Yellow-rumped warbler, but no opportunities for good photos. Eventually a male (take my word for it!) Golden-crowned kinglet entered the watercourse and I was able to obtain some good photos.

After another considerable wait a Brown creeper made an appearance at its favorite yard feature, a stone birdbath on the outskirts of the yard where I can’t get what I consider quality photographs due to the distance. However, overcrowding at the stone birdbath motivated the creeper to move towards the watercourse (and me). I managed this photo of the creeper on a staging stick immediately adjacent to the watercourse before it decided to leave without bathing.

I was suddenly startled to see a juvenile Cedar waxwing perched on a branch in the madrone tree over the stone bird bath. As I watched it was joined by a second juvenile and eventually by two adults. The waxwings spent considerable time bathing and left the yard only to return a short time later.

Two Anna’s hummingbirds were contesting the yard as territory, one mature adult and the other an apparent juvenile. This photo is of the adult.

 I had a rather spectacular yard burning afternoon on September 17, 2024. I had no sooner seated myself in the yard with my camera when I saw a Fox sparrow, my first of the fall season. 

Just a few minutes later a  Golden-crowned sparrow appeared, also my first of the fall season.  I had a total of at least three in the yard during the afternoon, two adults and one juvenile.

Shortly thereafter an Orange-crowned warbler entered the yard, followed a short time later by three more!  This was the start of multiple sightings of the species for the rest of the afternoon. There were so many Orange-crowned warbler visits with so many opportunities for photos that I retained 44 photos of the species. 

A Yellow warbler also visited the yard, but I was unable to acquire any good photos. 

Finally, a Townsend’s warbler worked its way through the top of the Golden Chain tree, but it never descended low enough for me to get a good photo. 

Sparrow season is now on!  I had the following six species of sparrows in the yard this day: 

By day’s end (shortly before 5pm) I had taken 329 bird photos in the yard, of which I saved 126.

I continue to get a few interesting birds in the yard this early fall. On September 11, 2024, I had a sudden influx of 4-5 adult and one juvenile White-crowned sparrows which were attracted to some sunflower seeds I had dispersed on the ground. They fed for about a minute or two and then all left. I have never known White-crowned sparrows to be gregarious.

I spent a little time outside before the rain on September 13, 2024, and was visited by what I think was a female or juvenile Yellow warbler! The bird was a uniform, pale yellow, too uniform in coloring to be an Orange-crowned warbler. I saw it making its way through the bushes but before I could get a photo it flew to a Japanese maple immediately adjacent to me, too close for a photo.

A short time later I had a visit from a juvenile or female Yellow-rumped warbler and obtained several photos as it accessed the watercourse for a short bath.

While I was in the yard this male Anna’s hummingbird made a brief stop. Here you can see the effect your viewing angle has on the apparent color of the gorget.

A single juvenile White-crowned sparrow continued to visit the yard and I obtained a lot of photos.

I spent some time watering and weeding the yard early in the afternoon, then took a break and decided to sit and bird for awhile. The local bird population wasn’t cooperating, so I cleaned the skimmer filter in my watercourse and fixed a rockwork problem in the watercourse that I had had concerns about for several months… but still no birds!

A Bewick’s wren finally made its way around the outskirts of the yard but never gave me an opportunity for good photos.

With no birds to watch/photograph my thoughts turned to the changing weather… overcast (much better for birding photography) and cooler (much better for my body and psyche)!

Suddenly a group of Bushtits arrived and, totally out of character, a juvenile male paused long enough for me to obtain several good photos! More birds began arriving… House sparrows, Black-capped chickadees, House finches and a White-crowned sparrow.

There were at least two hummingbirds dueling in the yard, and I managed a large number of photographs of a first-year male Anna’s Hummingbird feeding on our salvias.

The Bushtit was enough to save my photographic day, but a juvenile Warbling vireo unexpectedly made an appearance, the third appearance for the species this fall!  

Two Dark-eyed Oregon juncos then returned to the yard. It’s hard to welcome them as they might outnumber the House sparrows this winter. 

And in between all these other sightings, a female Downy woodpecker landed beside me on the pedestal bird bath… much too close to photograph.  Somewhat later, a male Downy woodpecker accessed the stone bird bath. 

I haven’t had a lot of time for yard birding since mid-August and my posting to my blog had been non-extant. However I have had a very limited fall migration and have obtained some good photos of non-migrants, so I’ll highlight some of my limited photography for the latter part of August.

After a period of very few Brown creeper visits this summer I now have at least one that’s a daily visitor. The creepers that visit my yard always prefer a stone bird bath that’s the furthest water feature from where I monitor the yard, and they are very active, making them a challenge to photograph.

Black-headed grosbeaks are still visiting the yard after a summer of relative scarcity. I suspect I had an end-of-summer family group visiting and I am unable to differentiate the juveniles from an adult female.

I’ve had quite a few House finches all summer long and the males have run the gamut from very pale to very bright. This photo is of one of the brighter males.

l’m still getting female and or juvenile Rufous hummingbirds visiting the yard. If they aren’t already on their way they’ll soon be heading south. (As I’m writing this I’m looking at both a Rufous hummingbird and a creeper!)

On August 21, 2024, I had a juvenile vireo visit the yard. I was certain the bird was a vireo but I wasn’t sure what species. I had to ask a more knowledgable friend for help. The bird is apparently a Warbling vireo, a rarity to the yard but the species I have seen most often.

Rounding out the month, this Orange-crowned warbler paid a generous (as in utilizing many staging objects!) visit on August 31. This warbler is a year-round visitor but most of my sightings occur in the spring when the birds travel through to their breeding grounds in Canada and Alaska.

Turkey vultures and, as I mentioned previously, Rufous hummingbirds are still with us but should be leaving soon. I think most of our American goldfinches migrate out in the winter, but the general area retains a few all winter. Most are now gone from my yard.

Looking ahead, we’ll begin to have waterfowl, shorebirds and raptors migrate in for the winter. Some of my focus will now shift to areas such was March Point, the Samish Flats and Fir Island, but I’ll still continue to monitor the yard. We can look forward to several sparrow species that will arrive later this fall (Golden-crowned, Fox, White-throated, Chipping, Lincoln’s and perhaps others).