When you landscape for wildlife you often attract a lot of creatures other than birds. When the birding gets slow I often content myself by photographing what else happens to be in the yard. On May 25, 2024, I had a variety of subjects to fill in my time while waitIng for spring migrants.

This curious raccoon sauntered into the yard and gave me a stare…

I had a visit from what I believe to be a Western Swallowtail but am somewhat troubled with identification by its lack of yellow color…

We have as many as three Eastern Gray squirrels in the yard at one time. I provide discouragement but they are highly motivated by any bird food they can procure!

We have at least ten American goldfinches visiting the yard at times. This one pictured is a juvenile male.

We have at least two pair of California quail that visit the yard on a regular basis. Last winter we had as many as 19 coming to the yard but they have now dispersed for breeding season. We’re eagerly anticipating the arrival of chicks!

And finally, a frequent t companion when the birding gets slow… one of at least three Townsend’s chipmunks...

On May 16, 2024, we had a male Western tanager visit the yard and watercourse, giving me a multitude od opportunities for photographs.

We’ve since had one other (May 24) but no females.

On the same day we had a male Wilson’s warbler. We’ve been averaging only about one warbler sighting a day, drastically down from this time period last year!

On May 15, 2024, I had a three-warbler day in the yard.  It began with a male Wilson’s warbler that bathed in the watercourse.  

Next up was an Orange-crowned warbler that took a lengthy bath in the watercourse.  

Finally, we had a visit from a male Yellow-rumped (Audubon’s) warbler which I didn’t get to fully observe due to dinner being served for guests.  

I’ll also include this photo of a Brown creeper, a welcome guest bathing in our stone bird bath.  

I had my most interesting birding day that I’d had in a couple of weeks on May 13, 2024.  

Upon arriving in Washington Park for my morning walk on May 13, I almost immediately encountered a Pileated woodpecker working on a very short stump in a large clearing. I’ve found these birds to be very tolerant of human proximity in the past and so I attempted to move closer to the bird for a photo with my iPhone. I was marginally successful but the bird flew before I could get anything resembling a good photo. 

While I was attempting to photograph the woodpecker, the leucistic Song sparrow flew to my location hoping for a handout. The bird has now been hanging out in the park for well over a year. 

My yard birding day began about mid-morning when I looked out my office window and saw a female Brown-headed cowbird bathing in our watercourse. I had no opportunity to get downstairs and photograph the bird so my yard birding day began with another lost photographic opportunity. 

Upon arriving in the yard with my good camera mid-morning, I had just sat down when a Chipping sparrow hopped into view!  I recall seeing one in the yard on only one other occasion. It was in view only very briefly before it disappeared, yet another photographic opportunity lost!  

At this point my photographic opportunities began to change. The first female Wilson’s warbler showed up and toured the yard, giving me ample opportunities for photographs. It, or another one, made at least three appearances. 

Next up was a fledged juvenile Dark-eyed (Oregon) junco which suddenly appeared on one of my staging sticks directly in front of me.  I was elated because it indicated that the single pair that had remained in the yard had had a successful breeding season. (In past seasons this species had been parasitized by cowbirds.)  This initial juvenile was soon joined by two others!  

On this day I realized that some of the birds I had been seeing and photographing were juveniles as I saw them being fed. In addition to the juncos this included Red-breasted nuthatches and Black-capped chickadees. I also realized that the lethargic Pine Siskins I had been seeing were apparently juveniles. 

In mid-afternoon I had a quick appearance by a male Wilson’s warbler but it gave me no opportunity for a photograph. 

I’ll round ut this post with a pair of Housenfinches that came to the watercourse.

All in all, it was a great day for bird observations even if the photographic opportunities were somewhat disappointing. 

On May 12, 2024, we had our first really warm day and about our fourth cloudless day in a row, complicating my birding photography. We were expecting the arrival of guests in the afternoon but I managed to spend some time in the yard during the late morning. I was encouraged by three sightings of a male Wilson’s warbler within a period of about 20-30 minutes but when no other migrants arrived I decided the sightings were probably of the same bird.  And disappointingly, the bird never accessed a water feature and I was unable to obtain a photograph of it. 

I managed another yard session late in the afternoon and was very surprised when a Warbling vireo landed on one of my staging sticks directly in front of me!  This is a species that visits the yard only once every few years!  My motion in attempting to swivel my camera in its direction frightened the bird and it flew without me being able to obtain a photo!  I was zero for two on the day for migrants!  

I was able to obtain photos of a Golden-crowned kinglet repeatedly accessing one of our water features.  

And while I’m on the subject of golden crowns, I was astounded when a Golden-crowned sparrow appeared in the yard. I thought that our last of about a dozen had left about a week before, but we clearly had a lingerer!  

One of my most interesting observations during this and the previous day was the sighting of one of the small Pacific Tree frogs that has made its home among the rocks of our watercourse. The frog is slightly smaller than my thumbnail but is capable of emitting extremely loud vocalizations!  I was able to photograph the frog as it inflated a sac under its chin and emitted loud croaks. 

This afternoon I watched as one of the frogs laboriously hopped across open ground from our water course to a static water feature about five feet away. I watched through my telephoto lens as the frog made its journey, but the frog’s features didn’t look right. As it neared the second water feature I realized I was seeing one frog on top of another… I don’t think they were playing “leap frog”!  I then watched as the frogs independently made their way back to the watercourse. 

It had been an interesting day for observations but a disappointing day for photography.