Extended Lunch... shhh, don't tell

Today I brought my camera with me and it was a beautiful day for a walk to see if spring had sprung yet. Well, not quite. The daffodils aren't in bloom just yet, but close.

I didn't make it far at all since I got distracted by the sounds of many birds right at the entrance to the trail :) I drive by this trail every day and often see crows and the other day some kind hawk, but as I am going 50 mph with nowhere to pull over, it doesn't leave much for enjoyment.

There was a lot of activity, most notably two Black Phoebes chasing insects above a swift running creek from our rain the last few days.
I clearly saw one snap up one of the white moths/butterflies we have around here.
There were quite a few of the Yellow-rumped Warblers flitting about as well, but only this one sat still long enough for a picture.
There was also a family of goldfinch(es?) flitting about eating the seeds from these cone-like pods. There was a couple I could identify as Lesser with their olive green backs, but below, I wonder, could it be an American Goldfinch?

While I was making a futile attempt to get a good shot of the goldfinch, I was treated to a male Anna's Hummingbird landing on a branch just 4 feet away from me. He sat there quite a while. How beautiful is he?

I wasn't able to identify this little thing below in the field as I never really got a good look at it, but it turns out to be a bushtit! They seem to be next to impossible to see as they are very small, and so dull-colored. I think it is a female with the light colored eye. I cropped this image quite a bit - and lightened it because it was under-exposed. But it still turned out nice I think.

And finally, as I was headed back to the car, literally dragging my feet, I scared up a California Ground Squirrel. The spots were easy to see in the field, but in the pic, they seem to blend in somewhat. It wasn't thrilled with me, but I managed to get within 15 feet of it to get this nice shot. At the time, I was focused on the body, but I'm thrilled to see the composition was cool too with it sitting on exposed rock. No cropping needed at all. I try not to, but sometimes, if I want a real closeup of a small critter, I just have to, even if I've got the 400mm lens on.

I'll have to do this more often. I really should get out there and walk I know. It is just a real bad habit to eat at my desk and websurf while eating and sometimes working.