I’m not sure why I’m tempted to start off with cliché titles, but there you have it.  I've been having trouble accessing the Surfbirds blogs, and even when I can, it has been deadly slow.  Tonight it seems to be working better.  I hope that continues.

The best thing that has happened this month was the November election and the tapping of the brakes on the road to oblivion that we’ve been on politically.  That aside, my best find lately was an American Golden-Plover at the Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant.  It’s not actually part of the Bufferlands (www.bufferlands.com), but is what the Bufferlands buffers.  I’ve had a few decent shorebirds there in the past, but this is by far the best.

I first saw it among Black-bellied Plovers on 11/6, and so far it has continued through 11/12.  The birds weren’t present today, since it was raining and they come to loaf in the sun, but perhaps tomorrow.  There are four primaries visible beyond the tertials on the bird's left side, and five on the bird’s right side; it appears to be missing a tertial on the right side.  The bird is much less golden than a Pacific Golden-Plover except on its rump.

More photos are here, in the shorebirds folder:  http://new.photos.yahoo.com/chrisconard2002/albums

This European Goldfinch was a real treat for the eyes; it was in a large flock of American Goldfinches.  I found three Nutmeg Mannikins the previous week, so someone must have left their aviary door open.