On a clear, warm morning I went out to find some Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and Bullock's Orioles. I got a new lifer right off the bat when, near the parking lot, some strange bird sounds were heard: Bullock's Oriole!

A male and female were foraging in a tree, very actively moving from branch to branch. The male was a brilliant orange. I'm not sure how these brightly colored, loud birds eluded me on my previous outings last year to the same location to find them. They were up in a tree but I, standing on the hillside, was slightly above them. I enjoyed standing there for 10 minutes or so and took a bunch of photos.

I didn't see much else of note on the next 3 miles of hiking. As I approached the parking lot once again, I saw some small birds on another path. There was a trickle of water in a small ditch along the path, so I figured I may run into some different species there. I walked for a while and was about to turn around when my Merlin app alerted me to the call of another lifer: Ash-throated Flycatcher. This is a rare sighting in the area, but other birders had reported (and photographed) one recently. I didn't go out looking for it but stumbled upon it! I didn't get a good look at it. It was initially perched low, but behind some trees. It then flew to a couple higher perches before flying out of sight. I managed to get a couple photos to help ID it. I'm really glad I decided to just keep going!

These photos are © 2023 Phil Thompson, all rights reserved.

My "birds in review" collages can be found here.