Birds I'm Watching: Orange-crowned Warbler

Looking from my living room window into the garden, I was momentarily puzzled by a bird I saw this afternoon bathing in the fountain that sits just outside. It took me a moment to understand that I was looking at an Orange-crowned Warbler. 

These birds (despite their name) almost never show the orange crown. In 25 years of birding in Sonoma County only once before have I seen any orange at all on the head of an Orange-crowned Warbler, so this was quite a surprise. Perhaps the crown showed so clearly because the bird had been in the bubbling water coming up from the fountain and its feathers were wet. I grabbed my camera and managed to get a couple of shots through the window before the bird flew off. Nearby, an Anna's Hummingbird was enjoying nectar from Echium flowers.

Rain: The last rain of the season, really

I can't remember how many times this year I thought we had seen the last of the rain for the current rainy season only to be proven wrong by another late rain. It happened again. We got 1.05 inches of new rain on May 27 or so, which is very late for rain in this area. That brings our (final?) total for the 2025–2026 rain year to 29.80 inches, which is on the low side – but late rain is good rain as it shortens the summer dry season during which we are vulnerable to wildfires. 

Miscellaneous: Wilson's Warbler in the garden

I had a comparatively unusual visitor to the garden this morning, a Wilson's Warbler. A male bird visited the fountain outside my living room window (photo through the window) and I think I saw a female flitting around as well, suggesting there may be a breeding pair in the garden.  

Rain: Late season downpours

Not 20 minutes ago, the sun was out. Raindrops from rain last night were glistening in the bright morning light. Now, the sky is dark again and it's pouring with rain. During the brief lull, I checked the rain gauge, finding 1.50 inches of new precipitation there, which brings our total for this rainy season to 28.75 inches at my location in northeast Santa Rosa. That's still low relative to our average annual rainfall, which is about 36 inches, but rain this late in the season is welcome; the later it rains, the shorter the dry summer interval, which somewhat reduces fire danger. 

It looks like I'll be checking the rain gauge again later today and more rain is in the forecast for tomorrow. 

[Edit: Since posting the above, we've had more rain – most recently, rain overnight on the night of May 4 to May 5. Rain this late in the season is a bit unusual, but welcome; the later we get rain, the shorter the high-risk dry summer season. Checking the rain gauge this morning (May 6), we got another 1.25 inches, which brings our total for the 2025–2026 rain year to 30.00 inches at my location in northeast Santa Rosa.]

Flying things: Airships and Orioles

I was watering in the garden this morning when a loud humming approached from behind me. I looked up and was surprised to see a sizable airship flying right over the house and at a fairly good clip. I was able to photograph it only from directly below, so I couldn't see any identifying markings. A morning UFO*. 

Among other flying things, I recently saw two pairs of Hooded Orioles popping in and out of a stand of large palm trees. Palm trees seem to be their favorite place to nest. I suspect babies are on the way. I wasn't able to photograph one of the bright orange males, but I got a couple of nice shots of the Mrs. 

I've also included a portrait of a handsome Western Fence Lizard that obligingly posed atop a cactus pad for me.

*Edit: According to my friend Monica Schwalbenberg-Peña, this is the Pathfinder 1, which, she says (according to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics), is at present the world's largest aircraft (406.5 feet long, 66 feet wide). Apparently it runs on electricity and it has a rigid outer hull, unlike a blimp, which uses an expandable bag of pressurized gas for buoyancy. 

  

Rain: A little more. Perhaps the last?

We had two days of rain at the beginning of the week – Monday and Tuesday. I found about 0.80 inches in the rain gauge after the sky cleared. That brings our total for the current rainy season to 25.45 inches at my location in northeast Santa Rosa. That's well below normal, which is about 35 inches annually, and the warm weather we had leading up to that rain apparently has reduced the snowpack in the Sierras to close to zero, which does not bode well for the water situation this summer. I'm hoping we have at least one more big storm before the rainy season ends, but we're already near the end of the season. We'll see....

[Edit: It wasn't the last. A new storm passed through the area on the 11th and 12h of April, dropping about 1.8 inches of new rain, which is very helpful. That brings our total so far to 27.25 inches, but it's still raining on and off today. There will be a little more before this ends.]

Miscellaneous: No Kings March, March 28 2026

According to news reports, about 8.3 million people turned out across the United States on Saturday, March 28, to join a "No Kings" march. More than 3,000 locations saw marchers out on the street. I attended the event in Santa Rosa. Santa Rosa protestors gathered at two locations in the city and marched toward each other to gather at Santa Rosa's downtown plaza. 

I haven't seen a final estimate, but I heard that as many an 15,000 people may have marched in Santa Rosa. If true, that would be about 10% of the city's population.  

Music I'm Listening to: Santa Rosa Symphony premieres Shuying Li's Coping Cadences

I attended the March 21 Santa Rosa Symphony concert (last night). The main feature was the world Premiere of Shuying Li's Coping Cadences, a kind of concerto grosso with six featured soloists playing against the full orchestra. 

Before the concert, a performance of Nimrod, from Elgar's Enigma Variations, was added to the program in remembrance of Corrick Brown, long-time conductor of the Santa Rosa Symphony, who died this past week at the age of 94. Nimrod is believed to have been the last piece he conducted with the orchestra. 

Here are some photos from both backstage and from the audience. Performances again today (matinee) and Monday night.

Music I'm Listening to: Santa Rosa and San Francisco

Some odd and ends. I've been lazy about posting comments on recent concerts I've attended – which I do mostly so that I can look back and remember what performers I heard and where. So, just for the record, The Santa Rosa Symphony just finished three performances of Mahler's Symphony No. 3, which is one of my favorites. I applaud the music director for attempting such a long and challenging piece. I attended the February 23 performance. The orchestra is huge for the Mahler. There were nine French horns!

In January, at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, I heard Emanuel Ax with the San Francisco Symphony, Jaap van Sweden conducting.  Ax played Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 25 and afterward played an encore, something familiar by Schubert, but I can't remember now what it was. Jaap van Zweden is a fierce-looking man on the podium. Ax gives the impression of being a gentle, kind man, but these are just impressions from the gallery. I attended the January 30 performance. Also on the program was Bruckner's Symphony No. 7. 

On February 27, at Davies Symphony Hall again, the Symphony, conducted by Manfred Honeck, performed Beethoven's Coriolan Overture – one of those Beethoven overtures I used to use in college as a musical pep talk. I'd play one, loud, before heading out for final exams. Somehow, the music ringing in my head convinced me I'd do well. Haydn's Symphony No. 93 followed. After intermission, Honeck led an unusual performance of Mozarts Requiem with additions and subtractions from the versions we usually hear – those filled out after Mozart died leaving the piece unfinished. Honeck played only the portions actually written by Mozart but interspersed with Gregorian chant and readings by an onstage performer of portions of a letter by Mozart to his father, by Bible excerpts, and some modern poetry. The performances were dedicated to the late Joshua Robinson, MTT's partner, who died a few days before concert I heard. 

Rain: A week or more of new rain

Today the sun is out for the first time in several days. It's expected to be a short respite before more rain over the next seven or eight days. Checking the rain gauge this morning, we've had 3.00 inches of new rain since I last made a note of precipitation, bringing our total for the 2025-2026 rainy season so far to 23.00 inches, which is on the low side for this time of year. Average annual rainfall for Santa Rosa, California is somewhere around 35 inches. Even if we get another two to three inches in the coming days, we'll be behind where we ought to be. Let's hope for more in the coming week and then for a rainy March. 

[Edit: A few more rainy days since the above post added 1.60 inches of rain to the rain gauge. That brings our total as of March 1 2026 to 24.60 inches.]

[Edit: A bit of rain overnight on March 1 brought our total to 24.65 inches.]

Rain: Rain in the third week of December (and beyond)

We've had pretty much steady rain for the past couple of days and more rain is in the forecast until the end of the week. As of today, 22 December, we've had 5.25 inches of new rain since I last reported. That brings our total so far for the 2025-2026 rainy season to 11.50 inches at my location in Santa Rosa. Another three inches or so is expected in the coming days. I'm hoping it will be clear again by Sunday as I'll be doing another Audubon Christmas Bird Count on that day. 

[Edit: We got an additional 1.55 inches of rain last night, the night of 23–24 December. That brings our total at my location in Santa Rosa now to 13.05 inches.]

[Edit: More rain on the night of the 25th–26th, an additional 2.55 inches, for a total of 15.60 inches.]

[Edit: It's been raining steadily for the past few days and it's supposed to rain again tomorrow before we head into a dry spell again. Looking at the rain gauge this morning, we've had 3.6 inches of new rain since I last reported, bringing our total as of January 4 to 19.20 inches.]

[Edit: On January 5 and into the early morning of January 6, we had more rain. Today, January 6, the sun's finally out for the first time in about nine days. I found 1.30 inches of new rain in the rain gauge, bringing our total to 20.50 inches. The forecast says it will now be clear for the coming week at least. Nice to have a break....]

Miscellaneous: Lion's Mane

I collected this beautiful clump of Lion's Mane today in Santa Rosa. This is the first time I've encountered Lion's Mane outside of a grocery store, so I'm excited. Looking forward to having some if it with dinner tonight. It's hard to see from the photo, but this double clump (I took only half) was growing high up on a tree. I was actually out birdwatching, not mushroom hunting, but I couldn't resist. 

This was truly delicious. On the first night, I dry sautéed sliced pieces and then, once they had lost a little moisture, I simply lightly salted and peppered them and then sautéed them further in a little butter and olive oil until golden. We ate these as "steaks."

Tonight, I did the same and but then diced the thick Lion's Mane slices and used those pieces in a spaghetti dish with pine nuts, a little prosciutto, a little sliced fresh jalapeño pepper, topped with fresh arugula all drizzled with olive oil. Delicious!

Music I'm Listening To: Geneva Lewis with the Santa Rosa Symphony

I attended the Santa Rosa Symphony concert at the Green Music Center in Rohnert Park on December 6 –  as usual, doing volunteer photography for the Symphony during the Saturday evening performances. The program started off with Intermezzo from Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo followed by the Brahms violin concerto. Geneva Lewis was the soloist in the Brahms. After intermission, the orchestra gave the West Coast premiere of Aino, by Jimmy López, which I thought a rather interesting piece. The concert ended with a suite from Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier. I've been very impressed by the SRS lately. They seem to get better with every performance. 

Rain: More mid-November rain

Over the last couple of days we've had more rain. Checking the rain gauge this morning (November 16), I see 1.75 inches of new rain. That brings our total so far for the current rain year to 4.95 inches. 

[Edit: As of November 26 we've had another 1.3 inches of rain on and off bringing the total at my location now to 6.25 inches.]

Music I'm Listening To: The San Francisco and Santa Rosa Symphonies

I attended the Santa Rosa Symphony concert last night (November 8 2025) at the Green Music Center. On the program was Clarice Assad's Baião ‘N’ Blues, Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez for Guitar and Orchestra, and Manuel de Falla's El Sombrero de Tres Picos [The Three-Cornered Hat]. The soloist in the Concerto was Raphaël Feuillâtre (Guitar). The vocalist in the Three-cornered Hat was mezzo-soprano Leah Finn.

It was a very impressive performance by the symphony, I thought – among the best I've seen. Feuillâtre was impressive in the concerto as well and he wowed the crowd with an exciting encore. Tickets are probably still available for the Monday night performance. 

In San Francisco, the night before, I heard the San Francisco Symphony at Davies Symphony Hall. French pianist Alexandre Kantorow made his debut with the Symphony (in concerts on November 7, 8, and 9) playing Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto. Karina Canellakis conducted.

Plants I'm growing (and rain): Last peppers of the year

Winter approaches. Yesterday I picked what will likely be the last of the peppers from the garden this year – shishito, jalapeño, and poblano peppers. That said, winters are mild here. Yesterday I also planted two kinds of spinach, three kinds of lettuce, arugula, mustard greens, and mini turnips. Obligingly the skies dropped 1.30 inches of rain overnight. That brings the total so far in the 2025-2026 rain year to about 3.20 inches at my location.

Miscellaneous: Local Birds

I took a walk around Spring Lake, in Santa Rosa, today for the first time in quite a while. It's a bit late for migrants passing through and a bit early for overwintering birds to be here in force, but it's always a pleasant walk and I did see some local regulars. In particular, I get some good shots of a male Common Yellowthroat, which, while not an uncommon bird, is one that's rather secretive and difficult to photograph. I also got a shot of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet showing its ruby crown – which is rather rare. 

Wines I'm Making: 2025 Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc

I was away the entire month of September, which made it impossible to monitor the vineyard at a fairly critical time – the period during which the critters have decided the grapes on the vines, even if not fully ripe, are ripe enough to eat. Despite being fully netted and an electric fence around the perimeter, something, probably raccoons, managed to get inside and completely stripped one of our two rows of vines of fruit. Zero fruit. Two vines at the front door, with no protections, were completely stripped as well. Had I been here, I might have prevented some of the damage. The second row was intact, however, and the fruit, despite some incursions and damage from yellow jackets, was in remarkably good condition with virtually no mildew or other rot.

I harvested the Cabernet on October 10. I got 104lbs of grapes from the single row of grapes, which is a very good yield and more than I expected judging from the state of things on my return from overseas. The grapes are now crushed and resting. The must (the crushed grapes, juice, skins, seeds, and all) tested at 22º Brix, which is at the low end of the acceptable range of sweetness (and may require a slight adjustment). Ideally, I would have waited another week or two in the hope of seeing the sugar levels rise a little more, but at some point it becomes a question of balancing the potential for additional ripeness with the potential for more animal damage. 

In the next day or two, I'll inoculate the must with yeast and the 2025 Cabernet will be off to the races. Almost no Sangiovese grapes were left on my return. I glean a couple of handfuls of berries (literally) from the stripped vines and chucked those grapes in with the fermenting Cabernet. We usually make rosé from the Sangiovese, but there will be none this year. And so it goes...

[Edit] Circumstances have prevented me from getting to the vineyard supply store to pick up yeast. As of today, Monday, the crushed Cabernet grapes have been sitting for three days. While I've kept them cool in the garage, they have spontaneously begun to ferment, as grapes will do, yeast naturally present on the skins starting the process. Vineyards sometimes promote their wines as natural and authentic because fermented with "wild yeasts," but I've never in 21 years of making wine tried to just let the fermentation go. The conventional wisdom is that using a commercially available yeast strain developed specifically for winemaking is more consistent and reliable. At the same time, I've read that the "wild" yeasts hanging around in winemaking areas are often the very same yeasts sold commercially, having become present in the air from decades of their introduction and use in making wines. Without analysis, it's impossible to know what strain of yeast is now working on my gape juice, but, everything else this year having been left to chance because of various circumstances (mainly my absence in September, but then being unable to go out on Saturday and Sunday because of my participation in the ArtTrails open studios event, the store being closed today, on Monday), perhaps it would be appropriate to just let the 2025 wine go and see what the result of the fermentation is. Tomorrow I'll try to confer with the experts and see what they suggest. 

Miscellaneous: Goats

Goats have been let loose to graze in the park nearest to our house this past week. The city now uses them each year ahead of fire season to reduce combustible materials on public land. They make the neighborhood look rather European.

Art I'm Making: Untitled Collage No. 302 (Santa Rosa)

Here's a collage from last summer. This is Untitled Collage No. 302 (Santa Rosa). Completed August 14, 2024. Acrylic on paper, acrylic monotype, bark cloth fragment, collage. Image size: 32.2cm x 16.8cm (12.7 x 6.6 inches). Matted to 20 x 16 inches. Signed on the mat. Signed and dated on the reverse.

Click on the image for a larger view. For more of my abstract monotype collage work, visit my website at http://ctalcroft.wix.com/collage-site/ or you can purchase my recently published book commemorating ten years of working in the collage medium – Colin Talcroft: Abstract Monotype Collage: 2103–2023 (ISBN 979-8-218-37717-5). Available on the website.

In person, my work can be seen at Calabi Gallery in Santa Rosa, Hammerfriar Gallery in Healdsburg, and at the Ren Brown Collection in Bodega Bay or by appointment.