How to identify it:  Small, bright yellow with black cap on top of head.

This small yellow warbler arrives in early May and quietly sets up nesting in low shrubs and in clusters of sedges or other tall ground plants.  They forage in deciduous thickets, preferring alders and willows but also hunt for insects in dense shrub thickets.  Eggs are laid by the middle of June and by the end of July the young are out and following their parents, begging for one last morsel.  They head south in late August although some head uphill into the mountains.  The late migrants from further north have mostly all passed through by the end of the September but occasionally a hearty, or lost individual or two  is still around late into the fall.

How to Identify it:  Bluish-grey with yellow under chin, on top of head and at base of tail.

This is perhaps the most common and widespread of the warblers and can be found in moist thickets of alder and willow and almost any shrubby cover.  It begins singing in April and eggs are laid early to mid June. The young are out of the nest by the end of July and they quickly disburse.  This warbler is likely to be seen during the winter months, although many of them migrate in the fall,  many seem to stay around all winter, following small mixed flocks or foraging on their own.  This is the only warbler which can digest the wax on the berries of Myrtles or Bayberries, a common ornamental shrub which may account for its ability to make it through the winter months.

How to Identify it:  Yellow bird with faint reddish stripes on chest and belly

This is a bright addition to the streamside willow thickets where it spends May through August raising its family.  The nest is a bulky affair of grass and other plant materials, sometimes incorporating hair or string.  The preferred nest sites often have a branch or other cover above.  This bird is often parasitized by brown-headed cowbirds and sometimes the warbler will abandon its eggs, and rebuild a new nest on top the old one.  The young are out and about by mid to the end of July and they head south shortly after.  By the end of August the last of the migrants passes through.

How to Identify it:  Small grayish bird with distinctive black mask bordered on top with white, with yellow throat and chest.

This is a bird of dense wetland thickets and its distinctive, wichity wichity wichity call is heard starting in April.  During April it will fly above the brush and sing, sometimes perching boldly in the open but soon after it secures its mate it stays hidden,  skulking in the shadows hunting insects. The size of the males mask may account for its success in finding a mate, a larger the mask the sooner the bird attracts a mate, and the more females it may mate with.   The female lays eggs in June in a well hidden nest at the base of a well covered shrub or within a thick tuft of grass, sometimes just above the waterline.  The first brood may be taken over and  fed by the male as the female lays a second set of of eggs.  The nesting birds head south by the end of August and migrants pass through during September.

How to Identify it:  Yellow stripe over eye, under eye and chin,  eye patch dark or black, prominent white wing bars.

This is a warbler of conifer forests and their edges, and can sometimes be seen during winter as splashes of yellow on dark cedar boughs.  It prefers mixed Douglas fir forests and builds a small open cup nest high in the tree tops out on a covered limb.  They begin arriving in late April from their wintering grounds in Mexico but are a hard bird to notice because they spend most their time in the conifer treetops. In August and September the migrating birds are easier to see, most often seen foraging lower in the trees.  Eggs are laid by mid-June and the young fledge by early August.  A few stay in the area over the winter months and may join mixed flocks of kinglets, chickadees and nuthatches.

How to Identify it:  Yellow breast, red on head, black wings with prominent wingbar.

This attractive bird arrives in late April and May and chooses habitats with a good mix of berry producing shrubs such as Elderberry and Salmonberry adjacent to tall conifer forest. They feed their young insects and fuel themselves with fruit and insects.   During spring migration large groups, sometimes dozens of these noticeable birds will move through an area. The nest is usually on a Douglas fir or other conifer bough, well away from the trunk, and often incorporates local moss.  The eggs are laid in early June and the young birds fledge in late July.  In August and September the migrating birds pass through again, this time singly and quietly, stopping to eat Cascara, Red-osier dogwood and other available berries.  By mid-September they are gone for the year.

How to Identify it: Huge, thick bill, broad white wing patch on black wings, yellow over eye.

This is a seed eater and readily comes to feeders with sunflower seeds.  It is  mostly seen during fall and winter in our area, and during the late summer and fall sometimes forms large noisy groups which descend upon berries or seed crops and quickly devour the plunder then move on. These flocks often work the seeds of maples well into the winter months. This bird does  not have a song to defend territories and apparently uses visual cues and calls to attract mates.  They nest in the lower foothills and mid-elevation forests.  The young start appearing at feeders in the lowlands in August and late summer flocks often contain many juvenile birds.

How to Identify it: Bright yellow with small black patch on forehead behind bill, black wings with white wingbars.

This bright yellow bird is a seed eater, taking seeds of grass,  dandelion, and thistle among many kinds. They nest later than most birds, eggs are laid by mid July in order to have a plentiful crop of the various late summer seeds.  Watching this bird balance and feed upon a waving thistle is one of summers treats.  The young join the adults in early fall in large groups and many of the head south although it is not uncommon to see them in the winter months.

How to Identify it: Massive thick beak, black head, orange underside, black wings with white patches.

This bird is a vigorous singer, and its robin like fluting notes can be heard starting in Mid May.  Unlike most birds, the female also sings, apparently to trick her mate that intruders are in his territory in order to keep him closer to home.  The two sexes share the incubation chores pretty equally another unusual behavior.  They build thin nests in mixed shrub and deciduous forest areas and eggs are laid in early June, with young fledging by mid-July.  This bird readily comes to feeders with black sunflower seeds although its summer diet is mostly insects and fruits.  They form loose flocks in the fall prior to migration and groups will descend upon fruit laden shrubs and clean them out. They are typically gone by late September.

How to Identify it: Thick bill, Reddish wash on head and breast, streaks on the sides, square end of tail.

This is a common bird to feeders with sunflowers seeds.  The amount of red color varies and sometimes there is even an orange tint.  The females are plain brown and streaked.  This resident bird is dependant upon feeders and has greatly expanded its numbers and range in the past 40 years.  It is not too particular where it nests, choosing trees, or cavities in buildings and often nests early and raises two broods a year.  It eats a wide variety of seeds, insects and fruits, sometimes large flock will damage cherry and other crops.

How to Identify it: Similar to house finch, lacking side stripes, and often with reddish color on the upper back. Tail slightly notched.

This finch is declining in our area, unable to compete for food and nesting sites with the more numerous house finch.  They are seed and fruit eaters and readily take advantage of feeders. They prefer clearings and forest edges and nest in conifer trees starting in May.  In fall the form loose flocks and feed on berries, often preferring western crabapple.  They are not usually around in the winter but some years, perhaps high cone crop years, flocks are seen during winter months. 

How to Identify it: Pale red color, black wings lacking wingbars, unique bill crossed at the tip

This is bird designed by nature to open cones, and so it is found almost exclusively in conifer forests.  It opens cones starting at the bottom, working the cone scales loose then using its pliable tongue to grab the hidden seed.  This bird nests relative to available food more than weather concerns and in big cone years will nest starting in February and have a second brood in May.  The bills of the young birds do not cross until they are about 45 days old, so they continue to fed by the parents until their bill develops enough that they can fend for themselves.  They form flocks and almost always if you see one there are others about, sometimes dozens but they are highly mobile and follow cone crops so one year they may be common and then not seen for a couple years. They come to feeders with sunflower seeds if the feeder is close by their conifer habitats.