The photo processing software that I use allows me to rate each image.  The ratings I assign are mostly subjective but do have somewhat of a technical basis.  I came up with some good images today so I’m going to post some of the images I rated as a ‘5’, my highest rating.

In no particular order…

A Red-breasted nuthatch,  We’ve recently had young show up in the yard and patronize our feeders, on several occasions having FOUR on one of our peanut feeders at one time.

A Black-capped chickadee, which prefers deciduous trees.

A Chestnut-backed chickadee, which prefers conifers.

Male Brown-headed cowbird.

Female Brown-headed cowbird.

(Female, or less probably a juvenile) Red-winged blackbird.

Male House finch.

Male Rufous hummingbird.

Not a ‘5’ rating, but the parents of the yet-to-fledge crows located just outside the corner of our property.  “Scratch that spot right there!”

I only spent about two hours in the yard on June 1 but came up with three warbler sightings with photos of all three.  At the time I was photographing this first warbler I assumed that it was an Orange-crowned warbler due to the muted colors.  In such circumstances my main focus (pun intended) is on obtaining photos, so I don’t worry so much about identification as I reason that I can always determine species when I process the photos.  Such was the case here, and after seeing the wing bars I realized that my initial ID was probably incorrect.  After examining this (and two other photos) I have decided that this is a first-year female Yellow warbler.  I’m not an expert on these matters and if someone has a different opinion I would like to hear it…  Hearing none, I’ll move on…

There’ no doubt as to the identity of the second of my warbler visitors… it was a male Yellow-rumped (Audubon’s) warbler and of the three warblers it was the only one to actually visit the watercourse.

The last of my warbler visitors for the day was a male Wilson’s warbler.  This isn’t the greatest photo but it documents my sightings.

A female Anna’s hummingbird…

A male House finch obtaining a drink of water,,,

This is (probably a juvenile) female Downy woodpecker…

And finally, a male Red-winged blackbird. We’ve had several pair flying up from the city’s wastewater treatment pond (where they nest) to access our feeders.  There has been substantial traffic over the last couple of weeks, especially since the young fledged and learned to make the journey up the hill to our yard instead of having to relay on the parents having to transport seed back to the nest.  However the traffic has started to slow and my budget for seed is beginning to return to more normal conditions.

May 31, 2018, evolved as a really good day for birding in the yard.  The birding began when I returned from my morning activities, looked out the kitchen window and saw what seemed like a rather oddly-colored male House finch on our small platform feeder.  I grabbed my binoculars;ars and discovered the first Red crossbill (this one a male) we’ve seen in over a year!  I rushed outside with my camera determined to get some kind of photo of this special visitor.  This was my first (‘record’) photo of it behind madrona leaves…

But I didn’t have to be satisfied with that first photo.  The bird came and went from the yard most of the day.

Another resident, but except for vocalizations all day long, somewhat secretive, was this House wren that elected to take a rare bath in the watercourse.  I think a pair nested in or around the yard due to all the vocalizations over the last few weeks.

Black-headed grosbeaks are regular visitors to the yard, but I see the male much more than the female.

We have both Anna’s and Rufous hummingbirds, male and females, in the yard.  Now that our salvia are blooming they provide the opportunity to photograph the hummingbirds in a more natural setting.  This female Rufous hummingbird is accessing one of the salvias.

We have at least two mated pair of California quail visiting the yard several times a day but so far we have seen no chicks, which is somewhat worrisome.

At least one pair of Brown-headed cowbirds have been with us for several weeks now.  So far we have not seen any juveniles being raised by other species.  .

On May 27 (2018) I spent some time in the yard in late afternoon after running errands.  I usually quit or take a break so that I can view the national news at 5:30pm, but on this day I decided to skip the news and just relax in the yard.  It was fortunate I did!

At 5:45pm a pair of Yellow-rumped warblers (Audubon’s) flew into the yard and proceeded to take baths in the watercourse at the same time!  Warblers have been in short supply lately so I was very appreciative of this visit.

This is the female, who made it into the watercourse first but proved more difficult;t to photograph.

And the male…

And since I took a few other good photos, Ill just go ahead and post them.  A female American goldfinch…

A female House finch…

A Chestnut-backed chickadee…

And a female (and/or juvenile) Red-winged blackbird.  They’ve been hitting the feeders hard and Ill be glad when they disperse!

Another great day in the yard for photographing birds!  I’m concerned about the lack of warblers and some of the rarer birds appearing in the yard.  It’s been months since seeing Cedar waxwings, Red crossbills or Western tanagers entering the watercourse.  But while waiting for some of the rarities I make do with regular visitors.

Here are two male hummingbirds…

The Anna’s, some of which are year-round residents…

And the Rufous, which is a spring/summer visitor.

I again had a male Black-headed grosbeak visit the watercourse in the afternoon and I was in the yard with my camera to record the event.

The female Black-headed grosbeak has proved much shyer and has been much more difficult to photograph without obstruction.

We had a male House finch appear somewhat closer than usual and I obtained many good photographs of it.  Take special note of the bird’s beak.

This is a Pine siskin, which could be confused with a female House finch as both are roughly the same size, of sometimes similar color and both have vertical stripes on the breast.  However, note the Pine siskin’s beak is very sharp, a distinguishing feature.  I think this particular Pine Siskin is a juvenile.

We’ve had many Red-winged blackbird visitors this spring, both male and female.  These are breeding pairs that apparently are nesting in the cattails down the hill by the wastewater treatment plant.  A quick flight up the hill to our feeders is much more efficient than having to leave the nests unprotected and forage for seeds or insects.  I’m fairly certain that we are beginning to see fledglings.  This first bird is an adult female and I suspect the second photo is a fledgling of, at least by me, undetermined sex.

Another SPOILER ALERT… the next two photos (taken in the yard 5/12/2018) are NOT of birds!