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.

I hadn’t planned to bird June 20, 2026, in part due to the bright sunshine we had. At some point midday I looked out the kitchen window and saw a Brown creeper taking a bath in the watercourse. This is a fairly unusual phenomenon because the Brown creepers usually prefer to use a birdbath that is considerably further out in the yard. Sighting of the creeper motivated me to get my camera and spend some time in the yard.

While I was out the/a creeper returned to the watercourse and I was able to get some good close-up shots. I’m fairly certain that this creeper was a juvenile.

During the afternoon I was also able to obtain nice photos of one or more Rufous hummingbirds.

a female Yellow-rumped warbler,

a juvenile Spotted towhee,

a juvenile Dark-eyed (Oregon) junco

and a pair of Bushtits, always difficult to photograph due to their activity level and usual reluctance to be attracted to water.  This Bushtit is a female.

Later, while in my office processing the 243 (!) photos I had taken that afternoon, I saw a juvenile accipiter enter the yard and perch by the watercourse, but I didn’t have my camera and wasn’t able to get what could have been an exceptional picture had I been in the yard.  

There’s no creature safe from †he camera! This Lorquin’s Admiral landed within photographic range and so became camera fodder!

I’m trying to keep detailed logs on spring migrants and rarities visiting the yard this spring. This includes not only logging visits but also documenting the visits with photographs when I can.  The volume of photos is overwhelming and I’m seriously behind on my processing.  I generally spend more time in the yard on overcast days because photographic conditions are better. The highest rate of arrivals seems to occur in mid-to-late afternoon which is generally more favorable lighting conditions for my photography.   

The early migrants beginning in late April were were Yellow-rumped warblers and Orange-crowned warblers.  They have now given way to (male) Wilson’s warblers.  

Highlights of the migration thus far… 

• Male Purple finch on April 19 -21, the first I have ever identified in the yard. 

• Female Purple finch on May 10, a very rare visitor and my first really good photos of the female of the species. 

• First seasonal arrival of a Black-headed grosbeak on May 8 with two visiting together the next day. (I have yet to see a female.) 

• Arrival of a female Western tanager (no good photos) early in the migration and a male on May 7. 

• A glimpse (and lousy photos) of a vireo (probably a warbling vireo) on May 6.
• A single visit from a female Black-headed cowbird on April 21 and again on April 28.. On the latter date the female cowbird was happily bathing in the watercourse among the neighbors’ House sparrows. Two pairs visited the yard/platform feeder May 11.

On May 12 this male Brown-headed cowbird briefly visited the yard.  

• On May 10, I had a visit from a small accipiter which, along with sun, shut down birding for most of the day. I obtained a photo of the raptor through three sets of fencing with no hope of identifying a specific species. 

There are still at least two to three weeks of migration left with the possibility of seeing other arrivals, but arrivals have tapered alarmingly over the past few days!  

I’ve had at least one pair of Bewick’s wrens visiting the yard on an almost hourly basis for the past month or so. 

A pair of  Black-capped chickadees seem to be using a birdhouse I had planned to scrap. 

None of my salvias are in bloom yet but the dominate Golden Chain tree in the front yard is in full bloom and has just begun shedding blossoms.