A walk this afternoon around the little urban lake here in Elk Grove provided very little. However, I like to think that quality sometimes trumps quantity. For example, the only duck we saw on the lake was this female BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, presumably the same female that's been here all winter:
You can see this previous post for details on the last time I saw her.
One of the most abundant species around the neighborhood as of late have been WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS. No, not House Sparrows. In fact, I have yet to even see a House Sparrow from my yard despite hitting the 80 species mark recently. Anyway, very rarely can you go 5 minutes without hearing WCSPs. This one perched on a stone wall this afternoon for a few moments:
Another now-common species around here is the WHITE-THROATED SWIFT. Here is one doing its version of a "spread eagle"... just on a slightly smaller scale:
Back home, the local female ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD often keeps watch over my feeders from this vantage point. Hang in there lady:
