I moved to a new apartment a few blocks away from my old apartment last month. I thought I wouldn't be seeing as many birds as at my old apartment, but it turns out this location may be even better because of the eucalyptus trees around the complex, which are great forage for insect-eating birds. I saw an orange-crowned warbler outside my window within our first week here, and shortly after that a couple of Townsend's warblers were spotted hanging in the trees!
I was able to grab my camera and snap a few pics from right outside our building. I would not have noticed if one of our cats hadn't alerted me by chittering at the window.
Yellow-rumped warblers are ubiquitous in the winter here in the Bay Area and can be heard anywhere there are trees. Ruby-crowned kinglets can also often be heard in the winter, especially in areas with oak trees. The Townsend's warbler is less common, at least for me. So very happy they are visiting right outside the window this winter.
I noticed that these birds sound similar to yellow-rumped warblers, but a little more high pitched. Their movement pattern through the trees and on the ground as they forage are very similar to the yellow-rumped warbler as well (and characteristic of most warblers). Still, it was exciting to see this bird hopping on the semi-open ground in front of our building since I am used to seeing warblers in the trees, usually obscured by foliage.
Birds with bright colors like yellow are always fun to see, for me. Wintering warblers are the only birds with bright yellow plumage in these cold months. In the summer we have different warbler species (including the yellow warbler species) in addition to the very loud orange and yellow orioles that brighten up the foliage of the palm trees they breed in.
Can't wait to see who else turns up this winter at our new place!