My birding day began when I looked out my office window on the morning of August 9, 2026, and saw a Black-headed grosbeak on my hanging platform feeder. I had been seeing grosbeaks for several days but they were either on the feeder or at such a distance I couldn’t get a good photo. That was going to change in the afternoon!  

I got outside with my camera shortly after noon and my first significant bird was a Pine siskin I saw on a hanging water feature. Siskins are an eruptive species and this was the first I had seen in the yard in at least a couple of months. I had no chance for a photo of the bird off the water feature… I had to take what I was given. 

Next up was a female/juvenile Red crossbill, the first crossbill I’ve seen in the yard this year. A neighbor had been reporting that the Merlin app had detected them at her house for the past couple of days.  The crossbill came down to the watercourse and I was able to get a photo. 

Next up, a while later was what I assume was a male Red crossbill. It was a bright orange and I obtained photos as it approached the watercourse for a drink.. It and other female/juvenile crossbills returned to the yard on several occasions during the rest of the afternoon. 

My next significant encounter was a Black-headed grosbeak. It, or its relatives, returned to the yard several times during the afternoon. 

I finally took a dinner break around 5ish.  When cleaning up the dishes I glanced out the kitchen window to see a Swainson’s thrush on the pedestal bird bath adjacent to the window. I quickly took a ‘record shot’ out the window then managed to sneak outside for a couple of better photos. The bird left the yard but a short time later returned to my stone bird bath. Later as I surveyed the yard, I looked up and was startled to see that the thrush had sneaked into the bird bath nearest me which gave me my best opportunity for photographs of the species I’ve had this year. (See prior post.) 

I next was surprised to see what I assume was a Western flycatcher (formerly a Pacific Slope flycatcher) land in front of and very near me. It availed itself of many of my staging sticks and gave me a multitude of opportunities for good photos. Several times it flew into a Japanese maple so close to me that my lens wouldn’t focus on it (less than five feet from me)!  

At this point a Brown creeper visitedthe stone bird bath, its usual preferred watering hole.

A male Golden-crowned kinglet, not rare but largely absent from the yard lately, then came to the watercourse twice for a bath. 

It was getting late but I was still getting intermittent visits from grosbeaks and crossbills. My attention was drawn to some suspicious movement in some snowberry bushes. I tracked the activity through the bushes and a Warbling vireo emerged just above my nearest water feature!  It proceeded to ‘dip bathe’ but used a perch in the bush out of my sight. However I did manage a few photos when it utilized a couple of my staging sticks. 

And, finally, as a bonus, I’m going to throw in this brightly-colored male House finch.

I can’t emphasize enough how unusual it was to see and photograph all these birds in the yard, especially in one afternoon. I would have been happy enough with a visit from only one, but to have so many relatively rare (for my yard) birds visit was truly amazing and very gratifying!  During the afternoon, with time out for a nap and dinner, I had taken almost 300 photographs, far from a record but documenting many rarities that I only rarely see or am able to photograph in the yard!  I assume that the fall migration is now beginning to take place!  

The frustrations of birding photography!  

August 1, 2026, began overcast with a very brief period of morning drizzle. Shortly after noon, in part due to the weather, I decided to see if the weather might help me get through some of the summer birding doldrums. 

I had been outside for about half an hour with nothing to show for it and was on the verge of calling it quits when I got a very brief glimpse of a bird on the ground heading towards me. It saw me about the same time I saw it and it immediately flew up into the fir trees at a steep angle. 

My impression was that it could have been a thrush but that’s such a rare bird in my yard and my observation was so quick I lacked any confidence in my tentative identification. I’ve had four species of thrushes in the yard:  American robin, Varied thrush, Hermit thrush and Swainson’s thrush.  The last two are very similar in appearance and I don’t even see them in the yard every year.  Judging by the bird’s direction of travel and trajectory I figured I had seen the last of it but nevertheless decided to remain in the yard for a while longer. 

I occupied myself with taking a few photos of an Anna’s hummingbird feeding on salvia.  

About five minutes after my original sighting of the potential thrush, in an entirely different part of the yard, I was startled to see what was clearly a thrush emerge from the bushes at my stone bird bath. It was very wary and left before I could bring my camera to bear. Over the next hour and a half I managed maybe 7-8 different sightings, some of which were very brief and many of which I was unable to photograph. 

Most of my observations occurred at the stone bird bath, and on one occasion there were two thrushes bathing at the same time!  After examining my photos and doing a little research I decided that I was observing Swainson’s thrushes, and at least one of them was a juvenile. 

I decided to take a break mid-afternoon after experiencing a brief, light rain shower.  Upon returning to the yard late in the afternoon I obtained some photos of chickadees.

My chickadee photography was interrupted by the sudden arrival of an accipiter (probably a Cooper’s hawk).  It flew into the yard and landed on one of my staging sticks only about 20’ away. More frustration!  It was effectively hidden by a volunteer madrone sapling that had sprouted from near the head of the watercourse!  After a couple of minutes it flew to another of my prominent staging sticks… also obscured from my view by foliage!  

Knowing that the accipiter’s trip through the yard would put the kabash on birding for awhile, I called it quits for the day.