Been good for variety this past week at home. YR Warbler, Pine Siskin, Evening Grosbeak, WC Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Cassin’s Finch, Lazuli Bunting, Swanson’s Hawk, BH Grosbeak, Bullock’s Oriole & both BC & Rufous Hummingbirds. Am Robins are nesting & have hatchlings. Along the river: Black-necked Stilt, Wood Duck, Osprey & the Canada Geese: which have started nesting.
Still waiting for: Yellow Warbler, House Wren & Western Tanager.
Had this bird in our yard earlier today. Don’t ever recall seeing a bird this wet before. It was around for about half an hour and then flew off. Seemed to have strength and full mobility. At first, I thought
it was some sort of sparrow, but the more I look the more I doubt that. Seems too much black on the head.
I would welcome thoughts on what it is and if it is just wet, or ill.
Today found me heading west from the Garden City West Bridge. A hooded merganser and ducklings in the river. Yellow warblers heard but seen only as an occasional flash of yellow. The local mom great horned owl presiding over her three owlets. Three brown-headed cowbirds in an extended conversation. Several cormorants on the wing. A chat with a group of cyclists yielded a hitherto unknown tidbit: an Irish fellow told us that in England, birders are called “twitchers.” Well, there you go. Twitchers all.
It was delightful to hear yellow warblers once again, but I didn’t see a one them! Did catch sight of a dusky flycatcher (thank you Merlin for the sound ID) and later saw one “catching dinner on the fly” in my backyard! Pear trees in bloom, and there’ll be proper leaves on the trees any day now!
Instead of talking about birds I’ve seen, I want to highly recommend a book. The title is “The Bald Eagle, The Improbable Journey of America’s Bird,” by Jack E. Davis. It combines natural history with our country’s history in a blend that
is compelling. There are dark moments, such as when Alaska offered a bounty for the talons of dead Bald Eagles or when DDT was killing the species slowly, but there are uplifting moments as well. For me, the final section, about a Vietnam Vet who gets over
his PTSD by a return to nature and a connection to the eagle, was very close to home. I had been back from Vietnam, back in “the world’ (aka the U.S.) about 6 months when I started birding. It definitely helped me to adjust. That section of the book was an
unexpected emotional end to a great book.
Okay, I’ll get off my soapbox. Read the book!
Tom McCabe, Boise
Home of Idaho Birding and the Idaho Bird Records Committee
