On Sunday, May 19, 2019, I sat in the yard hoping for some unusual visitors.  It was not to happen.  I spent considerable time doing what I do best… sitting around waiting for something interesting to visit.  While I was watching/photographing this Spotted towhee entered the watercourse for a bath.  What a mess!  Just looking at this bird you might think it would never be able to fly again!

I had just about decided to give it up for the day when a female Northern flicker flew into the yard and, in a relatively rare move, decided to visit the watercourse. The flicker is a relatively large bird and so I was able to get some rather good photos.

She had no sooner left than her mate decided to give the watercourse a try.

Shortly thereafter a female Rufous hummingbird entered the watercourse for a bath.  The hummingbirds often seem to want to access the very edge of one of the waterfalls for a bath but seldom get washed over the edge.

Since I’m highlighting size differences, I’ve decided to include one of my favorite activities… photographing flying hummingbirds.  This is a female Rufous hummingbird I photographed on May 22.

On the yard news front, the dearth of warbler visits for the past week or so seem to have ended and I’m now seeing a few more warblers, almost all Wilson’s.  On May 22 I had four Wilson warbler visits over the course of the afternoon and saw our first female late in the afternoon… too late for photos.

Our Black-headed grosbeak visits have declined but they are still visiting the yard.  On 5/22 we had two males in the yard at the same time, a first for this season.

And finally, we are absolutely overrun with House sparrows, with more coming!