While traipsing through snow at Oak Glen Schoolhouse Museum Park, I saw 6 or 7 of these Spotted Towhees, all scratching around in the fallen leaves, as is their custom. My first one for the year, so very happy to find him! 1/20/23 www.sparhawkphotography.com
I went birding up at Yucaipa Regional Park in Yucaipa, CA. I saw 43 species of birds ( only 3 were new for my year list), with this one male Wood Duck as one of them. These are such beautiful ducks, they are always a treat to see. 1/19/23 www.sparhawkphotography.com
When I last birded at Prado Regional Park, I saw 17 of these little cuties, Cackling Geese. Although they look a lot like the more common (at least here) Canada Geese, they are much smaller, with shorter necks and stubbier bills. These with the white "necklace" are of the Aleutian subspecies. These are barely larger than a good sized duck, like a shoveler or mallard. They breed in Canada, but sometimes winter farther south. Before this time, I'd never seen more than 2 at a time--17 was amazing!
