March is here and it brought the weather to demonstrate its presence!  My intention was to    start posting my post-Palm Springs photos and experiences in chronological order but I had a good birding day on March 5 and it included a noteworthy, timely visit so I decided on a contemporary posting.  After a blustery Friday (March 4 Saturday dawned with enough sunshine to make a birding excursion seemingly worthwhile.

I began my photography at the Cap Sante Overlook, just blocks from my home.  There I photographed this overwintering male Anna’s hummingbird (one of our smallest birds)

and eventually three juvenile Bald eagles (one of our larger birds) taking advantage of the updrafts and circling the overlook.  Since the eagles were clearly juveniles I assume they were sparring instead of mating, but their aerobatics made for interesting observation.

On the way back down I found this Spotted towhee who didn’t mind its photo being taken…

For the past week or so there has been one or more Brant along the north shoreline of March Point, and on some days there are a pair.  Sadly one of the Brant apparently has an injured leg and its mate is generally sticking with it.  The situation has given me my first ever opportunity to obtain some good Brant photos.

My next destination was Fir Island, but other than this Common raven  I found along the way I discovered very few birding opportunities.  While I found some swans, I don’t think I saw a single goose!

I returned to the house to find a male Hairy woodpecker in the yard and I was able to take photos from several angles while it clung to the side of a fir tree.  (I initially assumed that this was a Downy woodpecker but after viewing the photographs on the computer monitor I agree with my wife who thought it a Hairy.)

And finally… our special visitor.  As I sat monitoring the yard a female Rufous hummingbird flew up to one of our two feeders, which until now had been used exclusively by the overwintering Anna’s hummingbirds.  This was our first Rufous hummingbird of the season (March 5)… we’re looking forward to many more!