After a day of overcast, mountain snow, valley hail, occasional rain, temps in the 40s, there came a bit of afternoon sunlight as the sun went down to the west.  We went to the east side of Ashland Creek Canyon, and the forest there was aflutter with feeding birds.  It was largely a flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers, with just enough less common gems to keep the search exciting.  One bright male Western Tanager was certainly a jewel–golden yellow with a bright orange head.  Then I spotted an otherwise drab little bird with a sunshine face.  It was the first of the Hermit Warblers for the season.  A brilliantly colored male: raven black chin, sunflower-colored face with a coal black eye in the center.   There were at least two  more in the swirl of birds that were moving throuhg the oaks, madrone and ponderosa.

Then one twelve-foot tree was decorated by two Nashville Warblers.  Up in a Douglas-fir the only Townsend’s Warbler I could sort from the crowd.  One stubby oak briefly held a half dozen fluttering Yellow-rumps.  So in the waning hours of the month onw new bird for the year: my first Hermit Warblers.  They’ll remain in this area, move up into to the evergreen canopy to nest.  They become very difficult to find unless you’re on a steep slope looking down on forest below.

Location:     Glenview Drive–Ashland
Observation date:     4/30/08
Number of species:     12

Northern Flicker (Red-shafted)     1
Cassin’s Vireo     3
Common Raven     2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet     1
American Robin     1
Nashville Warbler     4
Yellow-rumped Warbler     75
Townsend’s Warbler     1
Hermit Warbler     3
Wilson’s Warbler     1
Western Tanager     2
Black-headed Grosbeak     1