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“Portrait of a Black-headed Grosbeak II”

A picture of a Black-headed Grosbeak from my backyard habitat.

About the Day

As I was going to the kitchen, I took a look through the sliding window door and I said, “What the heck is THAT?”. My kids had to check it out too as I grabbed the camera and took a few pictures. It was too far away, but at least I could try and ID it. At first I thought it was a Robin, but not quite. Turned out to be a Black-headed Grosbeak...my first.

I went outside and started taking pictures of hummingbirds @ around 2:30pm. I wasn't getting any shots, but then I saw this guy (Grosbeak) in my ‘studio’....so I packed up my camera and tripod and walked to the end of the yard and waited. (3pm)

I took some pictures of Goldfinches and House Finches, but I got my first good picture at 6:40pm. Here's a portrait...

Location, Date and Image Number

Atwater, CA on 2009-04-24
Image ID# 03-055