After my one-day bout with whatever it was, I rejoined the group for a side-trip to higher elevations to see a variety of small birds. The few that weren’t small wound up that way in my pictures for the most part, being very far away.
I was delighted to manage a few shots of the Bumblebee Hummingbirds which were very tiny.
Most accommodating were one or two White-eared Hummingbirds.
I couldn’t find Red-headed Tanager on our triplist, but that’s definitely what this is. It’s likely it was on the list and I just wasn’t back up to speed enough to stay on top of Steve’s rapid-fire recitation of what we saw at the end of the day. As far as I can tell this is still a tanager and hasn’t been reclassified, which seems to be happening constantly.
Red-headed Tanager
Warblers were present. It was difficult to get a clear shot of the Rufous-Capped but these are good enough for identification anyway. Notice the similarities between the Townsend’s and the Black-Throated Green below it…
Rufous-capped Warbler 
Townsend’s Warbler
I was very happy to get such good looks at a Grace’s Warbler. This is another first-timer for me.
Our daily Western Flycatcher…
Pacific-slope “Western” Flycatcher 
And another new wren!
Spotted Wren 
We get Hepatic Tanagers sometimes in migration. This one seemed to be attracted to a gate resembling its own color.
Hepatic Tanager
A coy Black-throated Magpie Jay…
Another bird we see in the spring and fall…Ruby-Crowned Kinglet.
I nearly didn’t find this next bird in my photographs but when I did, even though it’s not fully visible, the beautiful contrast between the blue on its back and the yellow on the throat made me glad I managed to capture it at all.
Audubon’s Yellow-rumped Warbler 
I vaguely remember seeing a Cordilleran Flycatcher in Texas… And nice to see again a little bit better perhaps this time.
It’s always a bit of a surprise to see a bird that’s relatively common at home in the summer or during migration, like this Eastern Bluebird, and the Chipping Sparrow below it…
Eastern Bluebird 
Bullock’s Oriole was another species I saw first in Texas.
Bullock’s Oriole 
I wish I lived closer to Acorn Woodpeckers.
Acorn Woodpeckers 
Grosbeaks are so…distinctive!
I like Pewees…
Greater Pewee 
Well I think I have two more days of photographs to sift through from this trip. Meanwhile, the real-time days keep getting longer here farther north. And the birds have taken notice. I have been hearing cardinals singing on sunny mornings at least for the past two weeks, but I have never heard what I heard this morning. My Northern Cardinal was practicing his entire repertoire. He sang four different songs, one right after the other, as if he was making sure they were all still there. Wish I could have recorded it but probably no one would have believed I didn’t edit it anyway. 🙂
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