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.  

July 27, 2026, dawned cloudy and cool and I decided to spend some time in the yard. We had  very light rain for much of the previous day so I figured my water features wouldn’t be much of a draw. That was largely true… there were only the usual visitors and not even many of them except for chickadees and nuthatches. 

About 1:40pm an Orange-crowned warbler suddenly appeared at the watercourse. This was welcome relief from the photography standpoint! The warbler spent a good bit of time in and around the watercourse, giving me many opportunities for photographs. 

About five minutes after it left the yard a beautiful yellow warbler (appearance, not species) appeared and headed for the watercourse. The bird was so yellow I thought at first it was a female Yellow warbler (species) but the more I observed it I noticed it had a very pale ‘shadow’ cap. Putting together the bird’s features, uniform, unblemished pale yellow color and pale cap, I decided that this must be a first-year Wilson’s warbler, probably a female. What a beautiful bird!  This warbler also spent significant time in and around the watercourse and I got lots of photos. 

It was tempting to remain in the yard longer, but I was anxious to process my warbler photos so I decided to call it an afternoon as far as photography was concerned. Back in my office, while processing photos, some movement in the yard caught my eye.  I looked down to see an accipiter, presumably a Cooper’s hawk, surveying the yard from one of my staging objects.  I watched as it made its way around the yard, finally stopping at the bottom of the watercourse.  I realized at this point that I might be able to get photographs/video with my iPhone from the window, but just after I began photographing it the hawk flew out of sight behind the south end of the house.  

As I was putting my phone away I looked down at the yard and saw that the hawk had returned to one of my water features  This time I was ready and took several minutes of video of the hawk bathing.  Although I’ve had many visits from accipiters to the yard, this is the first time I can remember seeing one actually bathing.  The bath went on at length.  Then I realized I might be able to go downstairs and video from the kitchen window, cutting my distance by about 80%.  I hurried down the stairs but by the time I reached the kitchen the hawk had finished its bath and after landing on a couple of more staging objects, it exited the yard.  Now, in addition to the warbler photos, I have a substantial amount of video editing to do.  But what an afternoon!  

Prolonged periods of sun, along with a prolonged case of shingles, have kept me out of the yard for the past couple of weeks. For whatever reason, I don’t seem to have nearly as many birds in the yard on sunny days and the contrast in light levels makes for challenging, and largely unrewarding, photography.

Nevertheless, on July 15, 2026, I spent some time in the yard. I obtained some nice photos of some of my usual residents, including these Black-capped chickadees.

Chestnut-backed chickadees…

A Brown creeper…

And finally, this unexpected visitor. I was able to track this bird from its entry into the yard to the watercourse. Judging by the yellow at the base of its beak, and non-descriptive plumage, I think this is a juvenile Orange-crowned warbler. It’s the serendipity of such visits that make the hobby of birdwatching so interesting!

The yard is full of juvenile birds fledged this season, some of which I featured in my last post. Perhaps the most interesting bird(s) I’ve had recently was a juvenile warbler which I had difficulty identifying. It, or another of its species, has visited the yard on at least two different days. I reached out to a more experienced birding friend and she suggested a Townsend’s warbler. I can’t find anything that seems to fit any better, so I’m going with that label. (And thanks for the help!)

Here are some other juveniles photographed in the yard in the past few days:

Brown creeper…

Dark-eyed (Oregon) junco of which I have several…

Spotted towhee… these birds get an award for looking least like their parents!

White-crowned sparrow...

And finally. several photos of juvenile Golden-crowned kinglets in various stages of their early days. Note the lack of color in their crowns.

And finally, what I believe to be a first-year male Golden-crowned kinglet that fledged a little earlier than the previous two..

There are many other species of juveniles in the yard but for the most part they must be identified by their behavior and not by their plumage.

After suffering several days of sun and a general absence of birds in the yard during the sunnier, warmer weather, June 25, 2026, dawned cooler and overcast. I felt I had missed out on a significant period of photography and looked forward to some time in the yard monitoring the birds. The spring migration appears virtually over and I’m left with many of the year-round bird population, but the yard is alive with juveniles of several different species.

Among the juveniles are Golden-crowned kinglets…

Dark-eyed (Oregon) juncos…

and White-crowned sparrows.

I obtained good photos of Black-capped chickadees…

and Chestnut-backed chickadees. Chickadees are currently the most numerous species in the yard.

A female Yellow-rumped warbler comes to the watercourse almost daily… I assume it’s the same bird.

I’m still trying to sort out my woodpecker species. Hairy woodpeckers have been much rarer than the Downy woodpeckers over the past years, but I did have a pair of Hairy woodpeckers this past spring. Now I’m tasked with sorting the two species when juveniles might be involved. I ‘m guessing that this is a juvenile Hairy woodpecker, but I’m not sure.

Here’s what I’m fairly certain is a Downy woodpecker for comparison, photographed outside of Twisp, WA, recently. (note the bill size.