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).