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:
- House sparrow
- White-crowned sparrow (adults & juveniles)
- Golden-crowned sparrow (2 adults & 1 juvenile)
- Fox sparrow
- Spotted towhee
- Dark-eyed (Oregon) junco (at least 4)
By day’s end (shortly before 5pm) I had taken 329 bird photos in the yard, of which I saved 126.