Orange crowned warbler, ID thanks to Bob at Wild Birds Unlimited.  Credit also the silver dollar eucalyptus tree that hangs over from our neighbor's yard. It attracts hummingbirds, bees, and is always pretty.

Cooper's Hawk, American Goldfinch

 Beautiful Cooper's Hawk in the yard, savagely chasing squirrels (he didn't get one). He has a band, will try to enlarge and see if I can report the sighting to somebody or other.

 When you invite one American Goldfinch, you invite them all.

Goldfinch!

 First goldfinch we've had this year, so I broke out the Nyjer seed. His larger cousin in red.

 Speaking of the house finch, I probably don't appreciate them enough. They are pretty, and have a beautiful call.

Mourning dove.

Adult white crowned sparrow.

Seriously lost dude

 Wow, talk about looking out the window at the right time. It's difficult to figure out what this is. Maybe Sandhill Crane? Still working on it. Anyway, he doesn't need to be standing on roofs. Thanks to Rachel Judson for helping to convince me it's a blue heron. I'm just used to seeing them standing with shoulders all hunched up, like the one we saw 2 weeks ago outside the ClaimJumper in Long Beach. But that's him all right, and fun to watch in flight.

 Heermann's Gull at the pier. John said there were whales off the pier this week, but I didn't see any.

California Brown Pelican.

Some good links

Bob at Wild Birds Unlimited Torrance is very nice and knowledgeable, and hosts walks at a lot of local places:
http://www.torrance.wbu.com/

To identify birds, I often use:
http://whatbird.com/

The yellow chevroned parakeets always show up in pairs, sometimes 10 or more. So noisy!

White crowned sparrow

Looks like a baby, but the line on his head is clear. They don't go to the feeder, just eat off the ground, so easy to spot. We always have just a few.

Some birds in the yard, January

T

The little dark eyed junco at the top is one of a pair hanging around a lot, probably nesting nearby. The Western Scrub Jay is always around, and of course I won't even comment on house sparrows and house finches after this.

Redtailed Hawk

Hanging in the backyard waiting for a fat squirrel to slip up.

Mission Statement

Let 2013 be the first year of keeping a record of birds I see. There will be birds I see in our yard, birds I can see within walking distance, and birds I need to get in the car to see. No pigeons, no crows.