Merlin
It was even cloudier this morning than yesterday, but I wanted to see if the Merlin was in the same tree as yesterday morning. If it would be there, that might be a good sign that it will sticking around all winter. So I went to that location first, and sure enough, it was in the same tree between the golf course green #1 and the tee box for hole #2. It's right off of the Lindy Bain loop trail, so access is okay for birders without having to disturb any golfers.
Merlin
Merlin
Merlin
Merlin location
I continued my morning hike, and ended up with 31 avian species.
Swamp Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Field Sparrow
House Sparrows
House Finch
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Palm Warbler
Palm Warbler
Northern Flicker
Part of a huge flock of Cedar Waxwings
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
I saw one sparrow that confused me. At first, I thought it was a Chipping Sparrow because of its apparent size (looked about 5.5 inches) and posture, but when I looked at the images on my cmaera viewfinder, I didn't see a dark eye line from the eye to the bill, so I wondered what it was. After hearing from a few other birders, it most likely was a juvenile White-crowned Sparrow. That was one of my most likely choices, but it still bothers me that it didn't look large enough for one (7 inches), and its perched posture looked different from the many other juvenile White-crowned Sparrows that I have seen, perhaps because it was perched on a diagonal branch?
White-crowned(?) Sparrow
White-crowned(?) Sparrow