Sparrowing Along

                                                                   Song Sparrow

                                                                  Savannah Sparrow

                                                                     Swamp Sparrow

                                                                             Ditto

                                                                     Eastern Bluebird

                                                                   Harris's Sparrow

                                                                       Cedar Waxwing


0730-1045 hrs./33-47 degrees F/sunny/18 mph wind gusts

Under normal circumstances, 33 degrees isn't bad for birding, but there was a wind chill, as you
can imagine with 18 mph wind gusts.  What kept me going was the fact that I was finding so many
sparrows.  What clinched the deal, was the fact that I saw a Swamp Sparrow, which is a bird that I had never seen before.  When you're an avid birder like I am(it just happens to be my latest field of
study), the cold doesn't matter.

Then I soon ran into a friendly crop of birds, where there was a little of everything, like the Eastern Bluebird, followed by a couple of Cedar Waxwings, and THEN, a photo op for the Harris's Sparrow.
I could not let that bird escape one more time, especially at reasonably close range.

From that point, it was easy to go to the Northern Reaches, and it was starting to warm up just a little,
but those wind gusts still were not pleasant.  What could I do if there was a rare bird in the area?  I
had no choice with this being an El Nino year, which means that it is going to be in the 50s in the
middle of December.

There was nothing noteworthy at The Reaches, but on the way back, I saw a beautiful Merlin.  I
should not have procrastinated so long for a photo, so it was my loss.  Sometimes, you just can't
get everything that you see.  To be honest, that really is a general rule, for if you do get everything,
you're really very lucky.