As I pulled into the parking lot at the first spot, a beautiful male Lesser Goldfinch alit on a large wildflower 20ft. from my truck. Lesson learned: assemble your camera before you leave the house! Oh well, I was mainly there to look for the Golden-cheeked Warbler. After hiking the 1.5 mile trail I was able to get brief looks at three, and one picture of tail feathers exiting the top of the frame. Close by there was a Lark Sparrow and a Rufous-crowned Sparrow on a power line. As I was driving away, a Greater Roadrunner crossed the gravel road. I don't believe this carries the same significance as a black cat.
From the first location I took a scenic road that follows a creek and headed toward my next stop. Along the way, I noticed a number of birds in the trees next to the creek and what seemed like hundreds of furry caterpillars crossing the road. Toward the end of the road, I also saw my BOTD--this relatively cooperative Painted Bunting. Fortunately no one was behind me as I stopped the truck in the middle of the road to takes some pictures.
At the next stop, I was looking particularly for the Black-capped Vireo. After a very quiet 30 minutes, and the sun and temperature rising, I abandoned the attempt in hopes of finding some other summer residents at my third location. It turned out to still be surprisingly active at 11:00 in the morning. Just off the parking lot Lark Sparrows were using the paved walkway and hummingbirds were visiting the flowers. On the closest trail, this Ash-throated Flycatcher was perched nicely on a open branch.
As I slowly made my way back to the car, a group of wrens, a Summer Tanager, and a Yellow-billed Cuckoo also made brief appearances. The drive home, of course, seemed twice as long as the one going out there (why does it always seem that way?), but I made it home just in time for lunch.
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