I was very impressed with the avian visitors I had the previous day (see prior post) and decided to see if the deluge would continue the next day. October 2, 2026, was another cool, cloudy day with conditions perfect for photography.

I again had a large number of Red crossbills visit…

and Yellow-rumped warblers.

I also had a visit from a Ruby-crowned kinglet (much rarer in my yard than the Golden-crowned kinglets).

For the past couple of weeks I’ve had welcome visits from a Townsend’s chipmunk which often provides a diversion when no interesting birds are present.

While Brown creepers visit the yard several times a day, they usually frequent a stone bird bath that is at the outer range of what I prefer for good images. On this day the stone bird bath was crowded and the creeper made a brief excursion to the watercourse, roughly halving the distance at which I can normally get a photo.

I would have been happy with what I had gotten thus far, but I had a VERY rare and interesting visitor… and it was kind enough to allow me many photos. This is a Black-throated Gray warbler, and there is no way I can convey how happy I was that it made an appearance! It’s moments and visits like these that make my hobby of birding photography so rewarding/1

The sun was out October 3rd & 4th, putting a temporary end to my birding photography.