Bushtit on the Tuolumne River Parkway Trail

Bushtits (Psaltriparus minimus) are the essence of cuteness. It always cheers me to see them, and it always is frustrating to photograph them. They never, ever seem to sit still. There is an elderberry shrub along the Tuolumne River Parkway Trail in Waterford that forms a sort of bower. If I stand quietly in the middle of the bush, the birds will eventually ignore me and feed on the berries or bugs. That's how I got these pictures earlier in the month.

I got some pictures of Bushtits earlier this year in the same kind of bushes at Joe Domecq Wilderness Park. It never ceases to amaze me how diverse the birds are in this region. Prior to picking up my new hobby, I would never have noticed these diminutive little creatures.