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.