How very special are we....

It's that time of year again, to quote my favorite kid movie:

He turns the seasons around
And so she changes her gown
But they always look in their prime

They go on dancing their dance
Of everlasting romance
Mother Earth and Father Time

The summer larks return to sing
Oh, what a gift they give
Then autumn days grow short and cold
Oh, what a joy to live

How very special are we
For just a moment to be
Part of life's eternal rhyme
How very special are we
To have on our family tree
Mother Earth and Father Time
(Charlotte, from Charlotte's Web)

And if you want to relive a few minutes of your childhood (or young adulthood, if you are a geezer), here's the song:


Non-sequiter...is it me, or do Killdeer always look 'worried'?

"Is that danger? I don't know. Maybe it's danger. I can't tell...it may or may not be. I better yell just in case it's danger..."
Oh, yeah. Back to Autumn...
Kelley's Nature Preserve is a special little piece of heaven for me. It's not especially birdy, except in migration. But I did get a great look at a Barred Owl there once.

Autumn may be the Preserve's best season.

It rained a little last night, but since we have gone a month or more without anything substantial, the shore was just as I like it. Walkable. Towering sycamores, peach-colored leaves dropping into the water without a sound.

It only reached about 70 degrees today, a perfect day to take a walk.
Or stand still and just be present.



Don't you just love trees with personality?
I can see a smiley face and a heart. Do you see it?


And lo and behold, some birds:
I am fully ready to call this a winter wren. But I'm not sure. And it's early, right?

These photos just don't do this little cutie any justice. It was like...a ball...of chocolate.
Really! He was nearly spherical. Like a bonbon.
A buff eyeline. Really dark. Really stubby tail.

I bet Kathi will bail me out on this one, expounding her bird-wisdom and letting us know if it is a House or Winter. Either way, he was freakin' adorable.

And another "CFW" ID that I spanked until it called me Mama:

According to Sibley, a Black-throated Green Warbler, first year female. I don't know about that last part, but the first part is correct.
And I didn't even have to get out of the car. I was sitting in my car, doing RAPTOR paperwork and making calls. Thankfully, I wasn't on the phone when this bird flew in with some goldfinches. I would have been like, "OH! Sorry, so-and-so, I have to go! Confusing Fall Warbler right in front of my car! Must DOCUMENT!"

Confusing fall warblers, I SMITE thee!

If you watch birds for any length of time, you are bound to run up against a bird you can't identify.
Fall warblers routinely fall into this category. In breeding plumage, warblers are easy if you have a field guide (and if you can get a good look at the bird, that is).

I hate ID'ing warblers. I love looking at them, but figuring out what the Hell I'm looking at gives me a headache. Kind of how I used to feel about ID'ing hawks. Hmmm.

Today, when confronted with a CFW (Confusing Fall Warbler), I bucked up and decided to figure it out. It took an hour to ID ONE BIRD.

This flitty goofball would only hold still for maybe three seconds at a time. I cursed my binoculars. I cursed the beautiful sunlight that inevitably back lit the bird. I cursed the park workers who just had to drive through when the bird got close enough to get pictures.

I ran through my field guide (Thank you, Sibley, for showing fall plumages!), observed the behavior, ruled out most of the warblers.
Two white wing bars.
Yellow belly.
Dark eye line.
Gleaning from the undersides of leaves.

Hold still, DAMMIT~



For the first time, I was able to see a reddish blush on the flanks. Thank you, flitty bird, for showing me that.


So, yes. After an hour, I ID'ed this as a Bay-breasted Warbler. It helped that it's early fall and this little guy still had some "bay" on the "breast".

If you want to see better photos than what I have, go look here.

And if you want to dispute me and tell me that there is no way that is a Bay-breasted Warbler, be prepared to make me cry and possibly call you vile names.