Birding without Photographic Evidence

I decided to avoid post-Thanksgiving weekend traffic and stay local, so I took a walk at Mass Audubon's Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary in Natick.  There were quite a few mallards in the marsh and I also saw one female wood duck among them.  I walked on Old Orchard Trail without seeing much bird activity, although I heard one American Goldfinch flying off in the distance.  It was a very windy day, so that was probably keeping most of the birds in hiding.  As I neared Wildlife Pond, I saw American Crows flying east to west over the pond in groups of about twenty.  Overall, I think there were 120+ crows in flight.  I didn't see any birds in the pond at all.  I decided to take the trail on the other side of the pond back to the nature center.  Once I passed the houses and got back into the woodsy area, there was an area of thicket where I decided to stop and see what showed up, if anything.  I waited as a few other hikers passed through.

This area seemed to be protected from the winds.  It was like I had found the "zone".  Immediately, I saw several Tufted Titmice and Black-capped Chickadees, about a dozen Red-Breasted Nuthatches, and two or three White Breasted Nuthatches.  I wish you could have heard the nuthatches.  Their sound is so cute, and it was repeating all around me.  There was also a small wren.  The best thing was a Fox Sparrow, rummaging in the leaves next to the trail.  A Golden-Crowned Kinglet and a Red-Bellied Woodpecker topped it all off.  I snapped wonderful photos of all of these birds, many from very close up, and couldn't wait to look at them and select from them for my blog.

I turned on the camera, connected it to the computer, and found nothing but my photos from this morning's walk at Tower Hill Botanic Garden.  I am crushed.  The Fox Sparrow was a life bird, and I so wanted the proof!

So, here are my two photos from Tower Hill.

I need to find out why my camera isn't reliably saving photos.  This has now happened three times.  I think at the very least I am able to save only if I completely clear the card before taking any new photos.  I was able to look through all of the above photos while I was on the trail.  So how and when do they disappear?  So sad....

 Red-Tailed Hawk

White-Throated Sparrow