If you haven’t read my prior post, April 11, 2025: My First Spring Warbler, you might want to read it before this post!
After having seen the Orange-crowned warbler on the previous day, I was primed for an influx of warblers! I spent time in the yard in early afternoon, was joined by a friend in mid-afternoon and after going to dinner with the friend in late afternoon we again birded in the yard until we lost good light and he had to return to Seattle.
It was for the most part another rather uninteresting day dominated by Golden-crowned sparrows and Pine siskins. However we did have one rather interesting Pine Siskin sporting as much color as any one I’ve ever seen.
Another interesting observation/set of photos was a male Golden-crowned sparrow eating madrone blossoms.
During my middle birding session in the yard my friend suddenly spotted a male Yellow-rumped warbler in the Madrone tree directly in front of us. I hadn’t seen it enter the yard which was somewhat unusual… it just appeared right in front of us. It descended towards the watercourse, at one point pausing to sing, giving me ample opportunities for photos.
This was the second warbler I had seen this season and fulfilled my anticipation that, like the previous spring, male Yellow-rumped warblers would be among the early migrant arrivals.
I’ve now seen two different warblers in as many days, so I’m hopeful for more in the coming days!
By early April I was anxiously anticipating the arrival of a first spring warbler. In 2024, as I recall, I didn’t start to see warblers until the very end of April, and it seemed the early warblers were predominantly Yellow-rumpled warblers. But when it comes to bird sightings/visits, hope springs eternal! I had been trying to spend time in the yard every day looking for spring arrivals.
On the afternoon of April 11, 2925, I was sitting in the yard watching much the same “winter crowd” species I had been watching for the past several months. New arrivals in the past several weeks consisted of Rufous hummingbirds, now quite scarce, Turkey vultures and, as of late, a few American goldfinches. (The goldfinches are in the greater area year-round but the seldom visit the yard in winter. On this day I got a fleeting glimpse of my first female goldfinch.)
Most of the Dark-eyed (Oregon) juncos seem to have already left for breeding grounds at higher elevations, leaving me with Pine siskins and Golden-crowned sparrows as the main subjects for my birding photography.
On this afternoon I was sitting in the yard, listening to the vocalizations of the Pacific Tree frogs when a backlit bird in a Madrona tree caught my attention. As I watched it move through the tree I realized it was an Orange-crowned warbler, which I’m personally declaring as my first spring migrant visitor. I was initially somewhat conflicted with this declaration, but here is my reasoning behind it.
The Orange-crowned warbler is probably my most common year-round warbler visitor, and for at least a couple of months I had one which was an almost daily visitor and who was visiting three different feeders: suet, sunflower and peanut! But that bird took a leave of absence two or three weeks ago.
This warbler took a different route through the yard, totally ignored the feeders, briefly visited the watercourse and left the yard after only a very brief visit, behavior totally different from my winter daily visitor. And that is why I feel strongly that this warbler was a different bird and new arrival.
These photos aren’t up to my usual standards but I feel this visitor needs some recognition, so here is the bird I’m declaring as my first seasonal warbler visitor.
As a special bonus, in the first photo you can actually see the bird’s orange crown, the trait for which the bird is named. I usually only get to see the orange crown when the bird is bathing and its head gets wet.
Mid-March has arrived and spring is just around the corner! To recap, l had my first Rufous hummingbird (a male) on March 2. He was a “one and done”… I haven’t seen one since. The first female Rufous hummingbird arrived March 10, just over a week later. I now have at least two in the yard doing what else… fighting over a feeder! And yesterday I saw two Turkey vultures (no photos) heading for the top of Cap Sante… our first arrivals of the season. Other than the Rufous hummingbirds, there’s nothing new in the yard.
I spent a couple of hours in the yard yesterday (March 14) and took 201 photos, retaining 80. For the past several months I seem to have had only a single Red-breasted nuthatch in the yard, but as of late there are now at least two. This one eschewed its favorite water feature in the yard and visited the watercourse, giving me better opportunities for photographs.
Here are a couple of photos of a female Anna’s hummingbird and a female Rufous hummingbird in natural environments.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I have two White-crowned sparrows that periodically visit the yard. This one is apparently a first-year bird that lacks the black and white crown of an adult.
This Bewick’s wren usually makes at least one trip through the yard each afternoon but is difficult to photograph due to its level of activity and the distance from me of its usual route. On this day I managed one decent photo.
And finally, this Crossbill towhee, a new species that has been with me for over a year! I was initially concerned about this bird’s survival, but it seems to be doing well with what must be a very serious handicap! It has no trouble dealing with shelled peanuts!
And sadly, my observations and photography allow me to detect certain handicaps that might not be observed through normal birding activities. I have a female Spotted towhee with a curled foot and what appears to be a one-legged male Dark-eyed (Oregon) junco.
On a more positive and final note, the leucistic Song sparrow in Washington Park has made it through at least its third winter!
Harking back to what I just said about sexing kinglets in my last blog, here is a photo of a female Golden-crowned kinglet in my watercourse on March 8…
You’ll note that even with a decent view of the back of the bird’s head there’s no hint of a red/orange crown.
Here is a photo of a male Golden-crowned kinglet from about the same angle, and you can clearly see the red streak in the middle of the gold crown.
THIESE ARE IMAGES OF THE SAME BIRD… A MALE! I think this illustrates why I’m hesitant to label any kinglet as a female!
I began my birding on March 10, 2025, attempting to get an opportunity to photograph a loon that has been frequenting the in the Cap Sante Marina as of late. The problem is, the loon can swim 50 feet, under and to the far side of a dock, requiring me to walk a couple of hundred yards for another possible opportunity for photographs. And by the time I make the walk, the loon can have moved yet again. Having gotten wiser in my old age, I gave up… and headed for March’s Point!
I almost immediately discovered this Bald eagle in the top of a tree, affording a good photographic opportunity.
I next encountered a small group of Northern pintails along the east/south end of March Point Road. They were somewhat closer to shore than they often are which afforded me the opportunity for some photographs.
Just as I was leaving the March Point area I discovered this Belted kingfisher which allowed an uncharacteristically close approach. Two drawbacks… one, the bird was severely backlit and two, since I couldn’t see the bird’s breast, I couldn’t tell if it was male or female.
Upon arriving back at the house I found a regular feeder visitor for the past couple of months… an Orange-crowned warbler. As I believe I have mentioned previously, it enjoys feeding from suet, peanut and sunflower feeders! I’m sure it’s also dining on insects, so this is probably the warbler with the most diversified diet in the county!
Stumbling on towards the end of this blog… I’ve been waiting for many weeks now to photograph a kinglet on top of a certain Oregon grape plant located under my suet feeder. The kinglets won’t visit the suet feeder directly but sometimes visit the area under the feeder to glean pieces of suet dislodged by other birds. This was my day! This Golden-crowned kinglet (of undetermined sex!) paused long enough for me to obtain a photograph! I don’t consider it a great photo but it’s not bad!
Finally, I was just about to turn in for the afternoon when I glanced up at one of my hummingbird feeders for this sight… my first female Rufous hummingbird of the season!
I don’t normally like to take/post photos of birds on feeders, but this was the only photo of the bird I was able to obtain… what I refer to as a “record” shot. There will be many more opportunities for photos of these females later this spring and summer.
I began my birding day with a trip around March’s Point to see what might be out. I first found this juvenile gull working on fish leftovers.
I later found this adult in the same area working to down a piece of fish.
I also encountered this lone Black Oystercatcher feeding among the rocks on the beach. In this photo you can see the bird has what I believe to be a limpet, reputedly one of the bird’s main food sources. While oystercatchers are not uncommon in the greater area, I have found them on March Point only rarely.
After my tour of March Point it was back to the yard, and in mid-afternoon I was surprised to look up and see my first Rufous hummingbird of the season (a male) at one of my feeders! I knew the arrival of the first Rufous was immanent but I thought it would be another week or so. The bird made several trips to and from the yard, repeatedly disappearing in one direction and reappearing from another, keeping me on my toes! I was frustrated in not being able to obtain a photo but the bird finally hovered near the feeder and allowed me to obtain several good photos.
At the end of my day I had a Ruby-crowned kinglet visit the watercourse. If I can’t see that the kinglet (of either species) is a male, I’ve given up labeling them as females due to the males’ success at hiding their identifying sexual feature. (Those of you who are birders will understand!)
