Yellow-rumped Warbler

My favorite part of spring-like weather this time of year is the appearance of many types of birds, each sporting unique and colorful plumage. I shot most of these images along the Hinkle Creek Trail; the bluebird, magpie and mallards were seen at Phoenix Park.

Yellow-billed Magpie

Rufous-sided Towhee

Red-shafted Northern Flicker

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Above, not a perfect capture, but I like it because this female Lesser Goldfinch seems to be practicing bounding flight. I only recently learned about this practice of small- and medium-sized birds (via an Instagram video about a parrotlet named Cora) in which they intermittently fold their wings while soaring through the air. It does look sort of comical but is actually a very energy efficient mode of flying!

After a safe landing

Western Bluebird