Back to the bud bramble

The bramble bud patch is a lovely place to stand and wait, because someone is always going to fly in and dine. The catbird is a constant at this location.

While watching the catbird I sensed movement on the left . Oh, something different. But what??? My brain was not functioning. I saw the black and white and size and my brain registered "Towhee". But if it was a towhee it was the weirdest towhee in the world. Different feathers. Okay, maybe an immature?, a hybrid? And a white beak? Towhees don't have white beaks. BIG white beaks. Finally brain clicked on. A rose-breasted GROSBEAK , male, right in my face. I'd seen them before, but from a distance. This one was right there in my face, bud gorging. What a fantastic beauty, almost exotic. I saw it come in to dine four times over a two hour period, just flew in quietly and gobbled buds.

On a sad note, yesterday's wind blew out the Riverside Park hawk's nest. All babies dead. From the start I hated the logistics of that nest because of lack of protection from any side. This feeling had nothing to do with photo opportunity. Most likely, even though parents are rebuilding nest, there will be no more babies till next year.

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