Reading · The Big Yard · RSS Amplifier

A male “uncommon” Yellowthroat at the fountain.

July 1, 2026

Red flags, fire and wind. June comes to an end and the planet leans into July and the hope of monsoon rain. The kind of hope only fools muster. Because we must, as wildfires plume ash and smoke across the West. This is the same hope, I realize just now, that keeps me tuned to the birds. Birds are the unexpected thing carried on wings. Improbable. Impenitent. Feathered absurdity and astonishment.

This morning, as I write this, a stunning male common yellowthroat comes to the pond to drink, all cadmium-breasted and Zorro-masked. Common? Not in my yard. The last time I saw a common yellowthroat here was three years ago.

The yellowthroat comes in at 41 species for the first day of July, with the help of the whip-poor-wills and poorwills and elf owls at o-dark-thirty.

Not bad in this gusting heat.

Here are some highlights of this morning’s visitors:

A male Black-chinned hummingbird visits one of the feeders.

A male Broad-billed hummingbird, one of only four species of hummingbird currently visiting the yard

Dusky-capped flycatchers nest here in the summer.

A male Phainopepla. These “silky flycatchers” arrive in the late spring to pair up and nest, feeding their young on the ripening elderberry fruit.

Summer Tanagers also breed here, taking advantage of ripening elderberry and chokecherry to feed their young.

A male Blue Grosbeak, coming to the pool for water.

The best remedy for our scorpion plague, the awesome and gorgeous vinegaroon—the wife says just keep them outside.

Our friendly neighborhood Sonoran Desert Toad says “Bring on the Monsoon.”

Thanks for reading! Barring any problems with the Pocket Fire, we’re off to Mountainaire near Flagstaff to celebrate the 4th with the kids and grandkids, taking over the cul-de-sac for a free book fair, BBQ, and outdoor movie night! Bring your own chair!

No posts

The Big Yard: Notes from a Pajama Birdwatcher

Comments