I love when a new species sits right out front for you to get a shot. Mostly, it is shooting through tree limbs as the bird jumps around. And then it usually flies away right before you get the shot. Not with this Lark Sparrow in Texas. Was right there in front of me on the trail. Much appreciated and a beautiful sparrow. The Eastern Phoebe as also bouncing around all over the place eating small bugs on the wing. I saw this tree limb and said to myself, it would be amazing if the Phoebe would just sit right there. Within a few minutes, he did. Again, thanks for the pose. I saw my first California Thrasher after randomly pulling off the road to stretch my legs on the same day as I saw the Lark Sparrow (and saw the annual eclipse as well). In that random road stop, I got a California Quail and this Thrasher within moments of each other. You never know what you are going to see unless you look. The American Avocet and the Spotted Sandpiper are two birds that I saw on the same day at the Salton Sea in Southern California, although I first saw the Spotted Sandpiper in Naperville, so it is a bird that is very wide spread. Both of those birds are very distinctive and easy to identify. So, these are birds 9 through 5 in my favorite bird shots of the year.
