April 30, 2013. Richmond Park East, Richmond, B.C. Sunny
Richmond Park East was teeming with newly arrived warblers. Several large flocks of Yellow-rumped and dozens of Orange-crown warblers are busy feeding on insects, probably stocking up for the next leg of their journey northward. I have never seen so many birds in one place.
Deep within the forest, a Rufous hummingbird incubates a clutch of eggs. The nest is perched at the very end of a flimsy cedar branch. Across a sun drenched glade an American Goldfinch sings loudly from a treetop, a Downy woodpecker drums on a stump, and the rasping sounds of the Pine Siskins can be heard everywhere. Meanwhile Black-capped chickadees, Varied and Hermit Thrushes were all busy going about their business.
There were so many birds to focus on that it took an hour to walk a 100 metres!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigxAyoIJjrNwDrxG_lgQUdFjfPnPQNmlfW8OCJIv3yH6uishen4qMf6dWV1wfL2pG37Hm8zvpb3nE84nRl73Vg0G_UFWJCgrDfer4juB0OsSg8Y0WLnJ2C0AR_ALbKGaPnF0EmqBadDUYW/s640/Downy+woodpecker+web.jpg) |
Hairy woodpecker (Picoides villosus) |
As mentioned in a previous blog, my highlight last week had been the Palm Warbler and the Dicksissel. Todays surprise, another 'lifer' was a colourful Townsend's Warbler. At the time I had been photographing the Yellow-rumped Warblers and thought that one of the birds had looked different but with so many hybrids I didn't realize what I had captured until later that evening while sorting through my files in Lightroom.
As I only have one frame (below) I'll include for identification purposes.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF1rOy_8W1zJhJfrGFMzKZhgxGDJ3zFcWUD_uwoQwP7an3Y3EKF1ndTH8SybzyCBDZmastoB7ep7XYbX_o6_vly_zbEPGVlZNuYk0zwLtnGyzv4ejoVJeM8ovm7q6GAbsn9mmgyk22sM-T/s640/Townsend's+warbler+edit+web.jpg) |
Townsend's Warbler (Setophaga townsendi) |
It seemed that a good proportion of the flocks encountered were hybridized Yellow-rumped warblers. This bird (below) has a white and yellow chin while some birds had very dark colouring and others were predominately white bodies with all white chins.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDVByJ7SktQjvGYIFDYCUVWtf4unxHPAijqKVww89Lfcgr3Hm7r_6jzGNHMz86tU5izLYFeDTJPbjDWFw0wkDMDMncqFlVAQMbuZLtCd1SVCeqsz7s_YSaAO6NXUG4KlckN2-A2YNLG8xX/s640/Yellow-rumped+warbler+hybrid+web-3136.jpg) |
Hybridized Yellow-rumped warbler (Setophaga coronata)
Myrtle and Audubon |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhegM33WKwZsMV6wrY4FoO8eBlmrrqm_8zk1UwmgepV0Ml1H4URndF9gxftIbu4iSXNwyo0JTLMjCQj_FrlWYGulwJGW0ioIZywz8QqrntTfbLD8BfO839ep0RK9GDw3Iff9iRsXtVUicZg/s640/Rufous+hummingbird+nest+web-3144.jpg) |
Rufous hummingbird (Selasphorus rufu) |
A rufous hummingbird sits on a nest made of lichen. The nest was so close to the end of a flimsy branch that predators would have difficulty approaching.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxkwslh9JZ37cAGIQKBW-4zFAtSlpU6GHVNdFUKRQZKfaFIn0wqQFDyp11EhIjyEndTaCC6QrWPm1zUF_WY9HnaWkiRSgSLsHfJjykpZkaw-2wPJsD7EMPHooxxQZWSTHV66w7iUDdnYhu/s640/Hammond%2527s+flycatcher+web.jpg) |
Hammond's flycatcher (Empidonax hammondii) |
Earlier in the day I stopped off at Queen Elizabeth Park where I photographed a Copper's Hawk, a Ring-necked Duck, Gadwall, Hutton's Vireo and this Hammond'a Flycatcher.