This evening (from about 7:00 P.M. to 7:20 P.M.) I experienced an unprecedented (for me!) irruption of warblers in my backyard. No fewer than 16 yellow-rumped warbers were present (of these, at least one was an adult male Myrtle, and probably at least one female Myrtle), one adult male Townsend's, one orange-crowned, and one Cassin's vireo. I have two (man-made) ponds, connected by a stream. At one moment, eleven yellow-rumps, the Townsend's, the orange-crowned, and the vireo were all bathing in the stream! At least five yellow-rumps were visible in the tree above the stream (and there were likely more)! As this was going on, a male pileated woodpecker came screaming in to a suet feeder, spooking the warblers momentarily.

To repeat, this is unprecendented--up till now, in the fifteen years I have lived at this residence, I've never seen more than two yellow-rumps at a time, and never have I had a mixed flock as I did today. An unforgettable experience from my rear window!

Ken Brunner
Kent, Washington