They're here!

In my weekly roundup of news about birds and the environment, I've reported here about the arrival of two of our three winter warblers, the Orange-crowned and the Yellow-rumped. What is odd about that is that usually the first of the three warblers to show up in my yard is the Pine Warbler, but so far this fall, I had not seen one there. Until this week.


Yep, they're here! I saw one at my feeders yesterday, so our complement of warblers is now complete.


Moreover, I had begun to wonder whether we were going to have any Rufous Hummingbirds wintering with us this year as we have had for the last three years. Several passed through earlier in the fall but they kept moving and it seemed like our winter this year might be hummer-free. But wait!


Sure enough, right on cue, a female Rufous has showed up at the Cape honeysuckle over the last few days and now she's visiting the feeders as well, so it looks like she might be staying.

Finally, I generally do not see Cedar Waxwings in my yard until late December, but this year they have arrived early. I've been hearing their voices around the neighborhood for a few days now.

This is a waxwing from a previous year. So far, they haven't come close enough for me to photograph this year.

It's wonderful to be able to greet these old friends. I look forward to having them brighten my days throughout the winter ahead.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rude people

I spent some time in a doctor's office waiting room today waiting for my husband. During much of my hour-and-a-half there, the room was very crowded with strangers. I had brought my Kindle and was trying to read Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson. It's a novel of manners about the way people treat each other and about their expectations of each other. It reminds me somewhat of Alexander McCall Smith's Isabel Dalhousie series. It has the same gentle, meandering feel to it. Anyway, I was trying to concentrate on my book, but at some point, it just became impossible. On the opposite side of the room from me several rather elderly - that is to say older than me - people were seated, and, as always seems to happen in these circumstances, one of them, a woman, had a loud and abrasive voice and manner and she insisted on telling the others her life story and especially her medical history. A couple of other people there entered eagerly into the spirit of the...
Read more

Poetry Sunday: Citizen of Dark Times by Kim Stafford

This poem is from a collection of poetry written by Oregon poet Kim Stafford after the presidential election of 2016. It was his effort, he said in an interview, to find the "flavor of unity" in divisive times. It seems particularly appropriate at the moment. Citizen of Dark Times by Kim Stafford Agenda in a time of fear: Be not afraid. When things go wrong, do right. Set out by the half-light of the seeker. For the well-lit problem begins to heal. Learn tropism toward the difficult. We have not arrived to explain, but to sing. Young idealism ripens into an ethical life. Prune back regret to let faith grow. When you hit rock bottom, dig farther down. Grief is the seed of singing, shame the seed of song. Keep seeing what you are not saying. Plunder your reticence. Songbird guards a twig, its only weapon a song.
Read more

My new Kindle

I love books. I love the feel of books, the smell of books, the heft of books, the look of books - their perfect symmetry. I am, as the phrase goes, an "avid reader." I've always got at least one book going and several waiting on my "to be read" shelf, so I consume a lot of books in a year's time. I am a fairly eclectric reader, although my favorite genre is mysteries, and specifically, historical mysteries, but I read a lot of other stuff as well, both fiction and nonfiction. My devotion to the printed page has been unwavering and I've never even considered getting an ebook reader. Until earlier this year. I got a Kindle for my husband, the technogeek, for his birthday, and after watching him use it and seeing his enthusiasm for it, I decided that maybe I should try it, even though I'm decidedly NOT a technogeek. I did try it and I was hooked. So, Santa, that jolly old elf, knowing that I had been seduced by the Kindle, stuffed my Christmas sto...
Read more