Two Warblers and Another Robin

It happened this way last year too. A Yellow-rumped Warbler arrived on the same day as the Wilson Warbler. I could have the IDs wrong, but that's what I think these two birds are. If I remember correctly, we
should be keeping our eyes open for the Western Tanager, which usually shows up for one day, around the time the warblers arrive. Their stay is short; they're all on their way to someplace else. We're just a layover, the Dharma way-station. We could blink and miss them, literally.
Okay, so here's another robin for you. At first I thought she had a mess of watery wet feathers, but the photo close-up doesn't look like that to me. When I look at the darkness on her chest I think it's blood. What do you think? What would make a bird look like this? She was eating and flying, and even though she looked thin, she looked like she could take care of herself.

An update: Thanks to the insight of two incomparable commenters, Valown and CCorax, it looks like the explanation for Ms. Robin's dark chest feathers could be an unusual molt. We are glad to know and even more appreciative of the very smart people who read our humble blog.

The arrival of the warblers is some evidence of a spring trying to emerge. We are, however, expecting a rainy weekend with a low of 34F on Saturday. Any lower and you know what happens? Snow. Yes, snow.

Have a good weekend, friends.

Ordinary Days

We've been busy with lots of things lately. Gardening, weeding, going to the doctor, dentist, store. The everyday-ness of life. Lucky for us a few extraordinary things do happen in the midst of the ordinary.

Like over the weekend when there were warblers everywhere. Yellow Warblers, Wilson's Warblers, and warblers we couldn't identify. (Click on the pics for the bigger view)
For several days there was a yellow parade in the pond, but we could not identify the little one with the orange-crown. We thought it was an orange-crowned warbler, but every description I read said that they are rather drab little birds, and not one mentioned an orange crown. Of course, I wonder where the name is derived, and, who exactly is this little one?

To top it off, a Western Tanager showed up. I swear, I see one every year just once. I happened to be photographing the warblers when this one poked up behind the pond. Totally lucky shot.

On Tuesday, we had dear friends from Santa Cruz visit. When we went into the yard to show them the lilac we had transplanted, there was a bobcat sitting among the lupins, as close to our house as one has ever been. It was 2:00 in the afternoon. It slipped away quickly, but then stopped to look back at us, before disaappearing. We thought about looking for it but assumed it was long gone. A short while later, I saw it once more sauntering along the fence without a care in the world. I'm not sure if I've ever seen a bobcat run. They seem to be very laid back little critters.

Unfortunately, no pics, just a nice moment for us and our visitors.

So, what have you been seeing lately?