Eureka!

This morning I finally figured out how to rename files in Adobe LightRoom... a generally cumbersome process but with group naming and auto-sequencing the software may make up for some of the extra steps required for naming.  In theory now I'll be processing more photos more quickly so maybe I can get to processing some of the photos from the California trip I mentioned in a previous blog. 

I still have some excellent photos of a bird from a 9/11 yard session, but embarrassingly enough I'm not sure of the identification.  I'm waiting to hear from one of the local experts on the matter. 

In the meantime, here are photos of a juvenile American goldfinch, a male House finch and an unidentified bird in a Japanese maple (thrown in for artistic effect). 

A Tale of Three Sparrows

Those of you who live in the area know that we had a beautiful, sunny day today (Wednesday).  I spent most of the day birding and managed to photograph a couple of sparrows that I usually have difficulty photographing. 

But first, here is a White-crowned sparrow that I photographed several days ago in one of my bird baths.  This qualifies as a 'yard bird'.  It's not rare, but I go for long periods of time without seeing any and I think the most I've ever seen in the yard at one time is three. 

These last two sparrows were at the area known among local birders as the 'West-90'.  There were plentiful supplies of both the Lincoln's sparrow and the Savannah sparrow. 

I'm almost embarrassed to be posting this, but when I arrived back at the house from birding a male Anna's hummingbird was flirting with the watercourse, which was in rapidly fading light.  I took a couple of quick photos which are proving impossible to lighten and still look good, but I thought it interesting that the hummer's gorget shows... apparently as a result of the infrared focus on my camera. 



I believe that you can click on any of these images and they will enlarge.  

First... a couple of notes. 

I previously referred to photos from the CA trip as including a Virginia rail.  I was wrong about that... when I began processing the photos I realized that I had photographed a Sora.  As far as I am personally concerned, this was a much better achievement.  I've photographed rails on several occasions but never a Sora.  In fact, I think I've only seen a Sora on two occasions and both were at the Anahuac NWR in east Texas. 

Second, I was diverted from my CA photos by observations and photographs I took yesterday in my yard.  Since I originally created this site for Skagit birds and I acquired a new yard bird yesterday I think it only fitting that I give that subject priority.  So it will be awhile longer before I debut any photos from the CA trip... which will include the Sora, a Swamp sparrow, a Calfornia condor, a bobcat and possibly others.  I'm also still struggling with another aspect of the new (to me) Lightroom software... how to rename my photos from the default designation supplied by my camera! 

We returned from our driving trip to CA on Tuesday and I’ve been seeing warblers in the yard ever since we arrived home. The observations have mainly been out the windows but on Saturday afternoon (9/11/2010) I worked out in the yard. I had seen so many warblers around the house that I took the precaution of taking my camera out with me so that I could attempt to photograph any warbler or other interesting traffic. It paid off handsomely!


For the first couple of hours early Saturday afternoon it was just the usual suspects… House sparrows, a female Downy woodpecker, a couple of Northern flickers, a European starling or two, Red-breasted nuthatches and both Chestnut-backed and Black-capped chickadees.

About the time I finished my yard chores (mid-to-late afternoon) the warblers started arriving. I saw at least Orange-crowned and Yellow-rumped but probably others also. I’ll have to wait until I process all of my photos for additional identifications. It seemed that the warblers would arrive in mixed flocks, stay long enough for a little feeding and a drink of water before moving on. I would then go for maybe 20-30 minutes before the birds would again arrive in the yard and I would have to again pick the warblers out of the flocks. It finally got so productive that I moved my chair into position where I could photograph our watercourse and nearby Golden Chain tree, a favorite staging area.

The big discovery of the day was a new yard bird species… one of the Empidonax flycatchers! I at first thought it was another warbler but upon viewing it through my lens immediately saw the crest and knew that it was a flycatcher. The next problem was whether or not I would be able to identify it... or perhaps more accurately, whether I could find a more experienced birder who would go out on a limb with an identification.  Many of the Empidonax flycatchers look so similar that, I am told, they can only reliably be identified by their vocalizations.

Western Kingbirds on Fir Island

There's been an awkward gap in my posts... I was gone on a 2.5-week driving trip down to southern California and back.  I got some good bird photos and although I primarily created this web site to showcase yard birds, I'll be posting some of the trip photos on this blog... including a Virginia rail, California condor, bobcat and others. 

Before I start posting trip photos... I took a little trip to Fir Island today hoping to photograph some shorebirds and what I understand is Skagit County's first Black phoebe record.  Alas... I saw neither the phoebe nor any shorebirds despite excellent habitat for both. 

However on the way home I passed a bird perched high on a wire and as I was getting farther and farther away I began wondering what I had seen.  I was mulling whether or not to turn back when I encountered another one.  Upon examination both birds turned out to be Western kingbirds... only the second and third of that species I've seen in the ten years I've lived in Skagit County! 

The birds were separated by a corner in the road and a couple of hundred yards, but as I began following the second bird back down the power lines on which it was perched it joined the first bird.  The first bird, in avoiding me deftly flew down in the ditch and retrieved a large insect which it proceeded to eat while perched.  There was a noticeable difference in coloration between the two birds with one having a much brighter, yellower breast than the other.  The photography conditions were less than ideal but I did manage a good many photos of the two birds. 

Stay tuned for trip photos!