Today I am feeling my oats, thanks to a great personal birding triumph. For months I’ve kept an eye out for these suckers, following up on the occasional reports that trickle in from around Greater L.A., only to meet with disappointment. Yesterday, it finally happened: I saw my first ever Lawrence’s Goldfinches. 

And yes, I got some pics. I wasn’t able to crush them like I’d hoped (“crush,” in the usage of at least one birding blogger, meaning something like “to get awesome photos of”) – but they will do. These are goddamn gorgeous birds and I defy you not to be charmed by them.

They were chilling at the Altadena Golf Course, where according to the friendly residents of adjacent Morada Place (who readily chatted me up), they return year after year. This despite being notoriously “erratic” and having “no loyalty to [their] breeding areas” (see here). Well, none of that matters now, because my earthly trials are over, insofar as they relate to this bird.

When I arrived, a pair of birders was just leaving, having struck out on the goldfinch. Slightly discouraging, but I didn’t mind the idea of hanging around for a while; the weather was amazingly awesome. The couple drove off, and two minutes later I had the birds. MY birds. I stayed around for about an hour, basking in the SoCal sun and the glory of my long-sought victory. While I was at it, I did my best to crush this dapper male Western Bluebird, using my high-end camera and very low-end skills.

Suffice it to say it was a damn fine day. And it feels like a harbinger. Spring is nigh, which means the birds are plentiful and it’s high time to be outdoors. In fact, I have travel plans that could make this my biggest birding year yet. STAY TUNED.