Amazingly, this very skittish species let me advance even closer, but as often happens flew away before I could snap another shot. The only other birds near the water were a single GBH and a small group of mallards.
I walked back up the creek toward toward a field that in the summer is good for Painted Buntings and where I imagine would be a popular site for sparrows in the winter. Sure enough, I began to see the foliage move and LBJs slip from bush to bush. After a moment of "pishing" I was able to coax this Song Sparrow out into the open long enough for a picture.
Even though it was work tramping through the tall grass and brush, the movement in the tress on the far side of the small meadow made it seem worth the effort. At the other end, this inquisitive Northern Mockingbird, who much have been watching me coming the whole time, was intently staring me down.
Close to my right there was a small ridge with tall grass growing on it and it appeared to be a good spot to hide out and see if any birds came out into the open. Sure enough this Orange-crowned Warbler came bopping through oak and juniper pausing briefly near the top of this tree.
And among the cardinals and chickadees a small group of Black-crested Titmice bounced around, one of which I got a couple real nice pictures of at a fairly close distance.
As I got back to the parking lot I noticed some real jumpy movement in a Live Oak just to my left. It had the hyperactivity of what I initially thought was a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, but when I focused my lens on the little gal I noticed the distinctive facial markings and yellow stripe of what was actually a Golden-crowned Kinglet.
On my Flikr page there is a picture of this same girl from the front. The photo quality is less but you can really see the golden crown. There is also another photo of the mockingbird (I believe) tossing his food to himself.
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