On April 15, 2026, I spent time in the yard hoping for migrating warblers.  It didn’t seem a good day for spring arrivals but I had a little time on my hands and, as the saying goes, “Hope springs eternal”.  (That pun snuck up on me!)  During the time I spent in the yard the weather was overcast, cool and with a slight breeze blowing…not the kind of day I would associate with spring migration.  

I began the afternoon watching my resident Orange-crowned warbler repeatedly access the suet feeder which is across the yard and at the edge of my acceptable range for photos.  Since I was getting few birds on my side of the yard I decided to move my location closer to where most of the action was.  It was a good decision.  I first obtained photos of the resident Orange-crowned warbler.  

In the same feeder area were at least three Red-breasted nuthatches. 

Also present in the same area were a pair of Bewick’s wrens which I’m fairly certain are raising young nearby.  

An American crow landing in the top of a neighbor’s tree caught my attention and in photographing it (with a telephoto lens) I realized it was transporting nesting materials in its beak. 

A pair of American goldfinches arrived after I had resumed my original location.  The female accessed the platform feeder (peanut dices and shelled sunflower seeds) while the male watched.  They didn’t remain in the yard long and didn’t visit any of the water features. The goldfinches have traditionally been a staple of spring/summer yard birds, but last year (2025) I never counted more than four in the yard at any one time, so I’m curious about what this year will bring.  My Golden Chain tree has formed tassels which will soon bloom, making the finches more difficult to see but potentially offering some interesting photographic opportunities.  (I only obtained one photo of the male goldfinch and it’s not worthy of posting.)  

Late in my brief time in the yard a migrating Orange-crowned warbler briefly visited my nearest water feature but was scared off by the sound of the mirror on my camera. I differentiate this arrival from my resident warbler by its arrival point and behavior… a skill set I’ve developed by spending too much time in the yard! 

All in all I label this as a good day.  Moving to a new location in the yard gave me better access to some of my regular visitors,  

And a coupe of other photos… a Black-capped chickadee...

and a female Downy woodpecker.  

This morning (April 14, 2026), I managed to find the Common loon that has been frequenting the Cap Sante Marina and get within decent photographic range. In past years when I was able to get photographs of a loon it was always in winter plumage, not displaying the bird’s beautiful breeding plumage. This year a loon remained in the marina long enough †o morph into full breeding plumage and this morning I managed to photograph it.. in the rain!

In this next photo the bird is in “fishing mode”, peering underwater for prey as it paddles along the surface.

Shortly after I arrived the loon departed for the dock complex where it becomes virtually inaccessible. It can swim under a dock and resurface 50′ further away, while requiring me to walk 200 yards just for a CHANCE to photograph it. It’s especially frustrating in that it often surfaces and lingers very close to someone working on a boat, unaware of the loon’s proximity. I learned many years ago that trying follow one through the dock complex is usually a lost cause.

I spent some time in the yard on April 6, 2026, and photographed a bird I suspected might be a male Purple finch.  I wasn’t sure because I’ve never knowingly photographed a male in the yard in my 25+ years living in the Cap Sante neighborhood.  I say knowingly because the male House finch is quite similar and sports a broad range of red, especially during the breeding season.  I sent photos of this bird to three different birders whose skills I respect and they all confirmed it’s a male Purple finch!  (Thank you birding friends!)  

In late morning on April 13, 2026, I got a quick glimpse of a dull brown bird flying into the main (truncated) Madrona tree in my yard. I got a very quick glimpse of its breast before it parked its front half behind the main trunk of the tree, leaving only its rear half viewable. My curiosity piqued, I viewed the bird through my telephoto lens and arrived at an identification with only the back half of it showing. While there’s a possibility that the bird is a Swainson’s thrush, the contrasting reddish-brown tail would indicate it’s a Hermit thrush, probably on its way to other environs for the breeding season!  This is quite a rare bird for the yard and I was glad to see and photograph it for documentation, even though I only got only half the bird!  

The afternoon was cool (51 degrees), overcast and with a light breeze.  I arrived in the yard a little late (about 3pm).  Initially there were very few birds in the yard. I finally counted four Golden-crowned sparrows but they seemed unusually reluctant to approach me. 

I was excited by seeing what I thought might be two warblers enter the yard but they were on the far side of the yard in bushes and quickly left. A while later I saw our winter resident Orange-crowned warbler on the suet feeder but it didn’t remain in the yard long. 

Shortly after 4pm I glanced towards the watercourse as two birds appeared simultaneously. One was an Orange-crowned warbler and the other a male Yellow-rumped (Audubon) warbler!   Both here and in Texas I have observed that different species of warblers often seem to travel in ‘waves’ and arrive together. Adhering to the old adage, “Strike while the iron is hot”, I took over 60 photos of the Yellow-rumped warbler! Ironically, both of these warblers are named for features that can be difficult to discern in the field. 

Both birds were intent on accessing the watercourse… the Orange-crowned warbler was first but stayed only briefly. The Yellow-rumped warbler took a minute or two to reach the watercourses but took its time bathing. It then flew to the Golden Chain tree and preened for a few minutes before returning to the watercourse for a second bath!  

I saw my first Yellow-rumped warbler of the season (also a male) in Washington Park on March 31 and this is the third one (all males, 4/3, 4/10 & 4/13) I’ve seen in the yard this season. As far as my yard is concerned, the male Yellow-rumped warblers are usually the first warblers to arrive each spring. My most numerous warblers are the Wilson’s warblers but they have yet to start arriving. And it’s still early… May is warbler arrival month in my yard. 

On March 4, 2026, we had a cloudless day with developing light winds. It seemed to me to be a perfect day to see migrating birds. I set up in the yard about 1pm hopeful that I might see a warbler or two.  

The first interesting bird I saw was a male American goldfinch. It wasn’t my first arrival of that species this spring, but it was certainly an early one. I couldn’t manage to get a clear photograph of it, but I did get what I term a ‘record’ shot, a rather poor quality picture but enough for identification purposes. 

The next bird of interest was an Orange-crowned warbler, but the bird’s path through the yard indicated to me that it was the same warbler that became habituated to my bird feeders during the winter. I obtained several low quality photos of the bird and in processing the photos realized the bird had an insect in its beak! It showed interest in the suit feeder, but I hadn’t realized the feeder was empty, and the bird left the yard.

After sitting in the yard for a little over two hours, a little after 3pm I had a second visit from an Orange-crowned warbler. It flew into the yard and almost immediately went for the top of the watercourse. I managed to get quite a few photos of it. 

In this second photograph you can see the warbler’s orange crown for which it was named, a feature difficult to observe unless the bird is bathing.

As I was photographing the warbler I noticed that there was a male Rufous hummingbird taking a bath at the edge of one of the water drops in the watercourse, in the same view in my lens as the warbler! I managed to get several pictures of the hummingbird.

At one point in the afternoon, I counted six Golden-crowned sparrows, which probably came close to constituting the majority that were around the yard at the time.  This image appears to be a male which has developed much of its breeding plumage.

I would guess that this image is of a female. Many of the birds that I assume are females have rather rough patches of feathers around their faces,,, I assume they are molting or getting ready for breeding season.

Other members of the sparrow family in the yard this afternoon were the House sparrow, a Song Sparrow, two Fox sparrows and a single White-crowned sparrow.

A male American goldfinch also visited the yard, probably the same one I had seen earlier in the day.

Along the way I got photos of this male Golden-crowned kinglet that stopped by for a bath.

I also extensively photographed a Black-capped chickadee eating emerging foliage from a Snowberry bush.

Here is a photo of a Chestnut-backed chickadee for comparison. When viewed from the front the chickadees look remarkably similar.

I wasn’t happy with the breeze that sprung up about the time I started birding. It made the low 50s temperature feel substantially cooler and I wasn’t sure but what it might affect bird migration, although the migration aspects of the wind conditions are pure speculation. This was my second consecutive three-hour afternoon of birding.