A wonderful surprise visit this morning from some passing small
flycatchers--Alder, Willow, or maybe, Pacific Slope. I am judging
solely from the ID books (of which I have a half dozen) because I have
never seen any of these species in person previously although I have
seen larger flycatchers in San Diego and at Nisqually.

To me, these birds resembled the Alder pictures most closely, although I
know that species is not usually this far south--particularly the eyes.
There were several of them who paused on the dead branches near my
feeders; one of them stayed there a couple minutes, so I had a good
look at it; then, a female Rufous Hummingbird whirled in close and
landed on the branch briefly. The Rufous is also a bird that I seldom
see here although Anna's are plentiful this year in spite of the lack
of hummingbird feeders.

I have put all my hummingbird feeders away for the summer because there
is a Black Bear roaming the area--maybe more than one. I know they are
attracted to other kinds of bird feed, too, but so far, I have no
evidence they have visited the millet, suet, or sunflower dispensers.
Just hoping all the berries, fruit and vegetation in the area will keep
them away from the house.

Darlene Sybert
Cinebar