[EBB Sightings] identify backyard birds

I am new to birding (within the last year).  I'm doing all my birding from
my backyard right now because of several physical disabilities.  Also, I
have limited vision and takes me longer to identify subtle field marks, but
eventually I do, if the bird is patient with me.  However, it would be very
frustrating for me and everyone else on a bird walk to deal with my
shortcomings, not to mention that I have an increased risk of falling.  I've
counted over twenty species in our backyard, many of them at our feeder, or
part of the clean-up crew below.  But I'm stymied by a couple.  I live in
North Berkeley, north of Solano.  We have oak trees and a redwood in our
yard, which is otherwise landscaped with grasses, flowers, lawns, rocks,
etc.  One little guy is a bit smaller than a house finch, has a finch-like
beak, is brownish grey(?), and has regularly placed white splothes on his
wings.  Also, to me, he has a remarkable tail: it is spread, like an
eagle's, w/white feathers at the bottom and darker feathers either above or
underneath.  He was at the seed feeder, but he also may have been the bird I
saw hopping through the high lawn a couple weeks ago.  The other bird(s)
make a chattering racket in the camellia bush outside our kitchen window;
I've heard them in other bushes around our neighborhood, but could never see
them.  This time, I was able to spot a couple of them: small (4") grey-brown
body, darker grey hood, black eyes, no field marks.  They just chatter.  Too
small to be juncos and don't look at all like juncos, anyway, and their
marking isn't the cut-away look of a black phoebe.  They also don't look
like any of the pictures of bushtits, which I assumed they were.  Any
answers out there?
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