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).

For the past week or so I’ve gotten reports of Steller’s jays in the neighborhood, including one report from my neighbor directly across the street. Although we would seem to have fairly good habitat for the birds, I only see one in the yard every two to three years.

On August 9, 2024, I was sitting in the yard (with my camera!) when I saw a very dark bird descending through the trees. While I hadn’t been focused on seeing a jay, when I got partial views of the shadowy bird through the leaves it didn’t take me long to realize that it could be a Stellar’s jay. I took several photos where I could only see part of the bird because I wanted some record of the bird’s visit. It finally emerged into an open area above a water feature and I was able to obtain some good photos of the entire bird. So I now have a record of the bird’s visit!

I was sitting in my office upstairs on the evening of July 25, 2024, when some motion in the yard below caught my eye. As I focused my attention on the yard I was startled to see a white chipmunk run from a brush pile to the rocks forming our watercourse. I raced downstairs for my camera and managed to get photos of the creature in fading light (~8:10pm).  The creature had all the appearances of a Townsend’s chipmunk but for being all white. 

The next day I sent my photos to mammal curators at the Burke Museum at the University of Washington in Seattle. They confirmed that it appeared to be a leucistic Townsend’s chipmunk. (An albino would apparently have had red or pink eyes, and this animals eyes were dark. 

I managed a few more photos early the following morning. The chipmunk traveled through the yard with decreasing frequency for the next four or five days before apparently moving on. A neighbor reminded me that she had told me about seeing a white “squirrel” at the Cap Sante overlook several weeks previously, so in that time it had apparently made its way about half a mile down the hill. 

Here are some photos of the chipmunk… 

I’m going to also mention that I am continuing to see the leucistic Song sparrow that has been in Washington Park (in Anacortes) for at least the past two years. Its summer plumage is appearing somewhat shopworn and the distinguishing white patch on the bird’s forehead is (seasonally) less noticeable. 

On Monday, July 22, 2024, I returned from my early morning walk in WA Park (@55 degrees!) and after a few chores I had breakfast. While cleaning my dishes afterward I glanced out the window and saw a juvenile Black-headed grosbeak on top of the rock that covers the skimmer immediately adjacent to the watercourse. The grosbeaks have been rather scarce in the yard this year, so this was a very exciting sighting… especially since it was the first juvenile I had ever seen. 

I raced for my camera and carefully sneaked outside, finding that the young grosbeak was now in the water getting a drink. I managed to seat myself on a bench and I set up so a minimum amount of movement would be necessary for photographs. The light clouds made it a perfect morning for photography!  

My fear was that the grosbeak would fly straight out of the yard as the adults do after feeding. After a couple of minutes the grosbeak emerged from the watercourse and took advantage of several staging sticks I have positioned adjacent to the watercourse, vocalizing the entire time. I got 39 photos, almost all very good. It hurt to cull them!

I wasn’t sure how the bird got into the yard… I had my doubts it could fly the way it was climbing around the staging sticks. To my utter surprise, it suddenly left the top of a staging stick and flew at least 100 yards, past a neighbor’s house across the street!  It was a very purposeful flight, and I think it might have been joined on its flight by a second bird (probably a parent).