Here are four sparrows, all of which were photographed on Cap Sante within the last few days.

First, a male House sparrow…

Next, a Song sparrow, a year-round resident…

Next, a Golden-crowned sparrow, a winter resident.  During the breeding season the gold strip on the top of the head will be a very brilliant gold, but in most cases the birds have migrated north before they gain their full breeding plumage.

And finally, for the last of our sparrows, a Fox sparrow.  I have these birds in my yard only in the winter.

I returned to the Red alder tree growing in the wetland on Saturday and found the Pine siskins back in the tree.  (See prior post.)  I took a good many more photographs, one of which is shown below.

And now for the hummingbird tale, with no accompanying photo.  If you were a female Anna’s hummingbird and you decided to spend the winter here, what is about the best you could do for accommodations?  My wife and I visited Christianson’s Nursery on Superbowl Sunday  : (  and upon entering one of the greenhouses open to the outdoors during the day, experienced a female Anna’s hummingbird zipping through the doorway and landing on one of the plants inside.  We got a good look at it before it zipped to another location in the greenhouse and started feeding on one of the many flowering plants inside!  Nice, safe warm place to spend day (or night) with plenty of food during some of the worst months of the year!