Monday, Feb 16 dawned clear with only a very high, thin cloud layer developing in mid-afternoon.  I had plans to photograph a couple of birds on the overlook but my plans didn’t work out as well as I had hoped.  But I put in the time and as often happens in such cases, the day worked out just fine.

My day started when I photographed a male House sparrow on the way up to the overlook.  The bird was in a nice setting but was otherwise unremarkable until I processed the photos.  I then noticed that the bird apparently had a tick or some other abnormality attached to its left cheek.  I have never noticed this in any other bird I have photographed.

As soon as I arrived at the overlook I heard singing and saw a Bewick’s wren sitting on the exposed limb of a bush.  I couldn’t find an angle to eliminate the small branch between the bird and I but nevertheless obtained some nice photos.  Considering the problem I have just finding one of these birds I was happy to obtain a photograph.

I then ran through three more species of sparrows at the overlook… Song (this photo is one I actually took in my yard during a break), Golden-crowned and Fox, pictured here in that order.

While I was photographing the birds pictured above, I noticed some movement in a dead madrone tree out from the parking lot.  I looked and saw that an accipiter had flown in.  I carefully snapped a couple of photos but had/have no hope of identifying the raptor.  It’s either a Sharp-shinned hawk or a Cooper’s hawk… they both look very much alike and I’ve given up even trying to guess between the two species.  However I have sent the photos to a friend who is a much more accomplished birder than I and I’m hoping to hear back from him regarding the identification.  In the meantime you can perform your own research!   :  )

Finally, upon ending the break I took at the house I scattered a little “habitat enhancer” in the yard in the hope of drawing out our Slate-colored junco.  We’ve had one over-winter at the house for the past 7-8 years, and I hadn’t obtained a good photo of one with my good camera and lens.  The bird is substantially shyer than our Oregon juncos and doesn’t interact well with its cousins, but at one point it emerged in the yard and stood very still on a rock for a minute or two… time enough for me to obtain some excellent photos of it.  So here is the Dark-eyed junco of the Slate-colored race!