It wasn’t over until the Yellowthroat buzzed

On President’s Day, I had the opportunity to visit Dean, Lynn, Shane and Holly in Ventura for a walk in Harmon Canyon and backyard dinner. We had some good birding in the canyon (for another post) and were winding down for the day. I picked up one of my Dad’s cameras and began flipping through the memory card where he had photos of a male Common Yellowthroat (like this, but taken in their yard.) I said, ‘oh I’d love to see one of these!’ He told me that there had been many several weeks ago, but fewer recently. He shared that they sound a bit like hummingbirds. Sibley’s describes their call as “a short, nasal, electric buzz,” which I agree is so similar to hummingbirds. Sometimes they are buzzing so hard it seems they will burst.

We went on chatting in the backyard and saw these cuties.

Then we heard a short, nasal, electric buzz…! We followed the sound over the fence into the neighbors’. On my tip-toes peering over I caught a glimpse of a bright very-yellow bird. Standing on a stool and leaning over the fence, Dad saw it too, confirming the black stripe of the male Common Yellowthroat. I didn’t have a photo, but seeing it counted!

We settled back in our chairs on the patio. Then, I saw some movement in the yard and snapped these:

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We finally called it a day and settled down for dinner.

Thanks for the help, Dad! So happy to be adding the Yellowthroat to our list. – Blair