As I type this, it is 8 minutes into 2023! I hear a few loud booms out there, and rain is pelting my porch. Inside it's been a quiet evening, dry and safe. Guess I AM an old fogey after all! That notwithstanding, I look forward to a new year, new beginnings, new adventures. I wish the same for all of you. Happy 2023! 1/1/23 www.sparhawkphotography.com
This Hermit Thrush popped up now and then while I was waiting for the White-throated Sparrow to show up at Big Morongo Canyon Preserve. He was doing his usual scuffling around in the fallen leaves, then going back into hiding again, true to his name "Hermit"! 12/31/22 www.sparhawkphotography.com
This pretty little bird is a White-throated Sparrow, and he just became the last bird on my 2022 Year Bird List, number 392! Since I'm working on the 30th and 31st, my last chance for a new bird was the 29th. I went out to the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve, where this little guy had been reported. Now, for those Smuggers who live in places where this is a common bird, it may not seem significant, but it is pretty rare around here. I actually sat at the Education Center for almost 2 1/2 hours before he joined the party at the feeders, where I had been watching White-crowned Sparrows, a Hermit Thrush, a Bewick's Wren, California Scrub Jays, Song Sparrows, House Finches, Mountain Chickadees, California and Spotted Towhees, California Thrashers, and Oak Titmouse. Needless to say, I had plenty of time to watch all of the above before this little cutie showed up. So, my year list ended at a very respectable 392 species. 12/30/31 www.sparhawkphotography.com
