A Wanna Wanna Day is when you go out the door and you wanna wanna see something different. Of course birds don't make appointments, so there's no way to tell who you're going to meet. Yesterday was a warm day so I put away most of my winter clothes. Today it was back to being winter, so this was really a wanna wanna see something for SPRINGTIME. The first choice on my list was to see a kinglet. The second choice was to see any warbler.
There are lots of images from today to be edited. This blog will be the short version. I like to stand by the creek, hide behind the tree and peek at who's coming for a drink. Lots of usual birds- titmice, chickadees, robins, sparrows, jays, goldfinches. And then something caught my eye. I knew I hadn't seen this bird before, certainly not in such spendid breeding plumage, the yellow-bellied sapsucker. My eyes popped out of my head. I gawked at it. It stared at me, click click, and it headed north. That was a real birding thrill. Over at the feeder field a pine warbler arrived, perched on the peanut butter-filled coconut and then the suet cage (those images are for another posting). This was a "wanna" fulfillment, an early spring warbler. I saw it about two hours later at another location, much closer. Pretty little bird. After four hours of birding it was time to head back here. I stopped for a final look at the creek. Movement on the rock caught my eye. There it was, another wanna wish bird, a golden crowned kinglet. It was there and it was gone, there long enough to get a picture, -teensy bird going after bugs in the rock cracks. Even though it was a grey, cold day it was total fun and very exciting.
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After a long trip the pine warbler arrived in the park and discovered the feeding field, -one coconut filled with peanut mash, suet, and seeds, and the suet cage. Delicious. I focused on the coconut and got flit-flit images. It was a cloudy day so the vivid yellow of the bird didn't gleam.
High on my list of adored birds is the tiny kinglet. Think sparrow. Now shorten same about 2" and you have the little, flitting, energetic, sit-still-for-one-second, bug-catching kinglet. This weekend it was the golden-crowned kinglet. It was flirting with me,.... going high on a tree, coming back down into my face, (too close to focus), posing for a split second before flitting to the next bug. I wanted to see its golden crown, but mostly I wanted to just watch it. The craggy rock above the gill has tiny insects in the crevices. Dining Heaven for a kinglet. It worked that rock like the best alpine climber. I know the kinglet is only passing through the park. I'm glowing with happiness having been able to observe this sweetness.
There are some birds who are so special that you just bang off pictures assuming the next sighting may not be for years. One of my favorite unique birds is the woodcock. I rarely see any, and if so, it's always in February or March. They blend into the leaves, hide under logs, very hard to spot if at all. I haven't seen a woodcock since March 2007.
A Wanna Wanna Day is when you go out the door and you wanna wanna see something different. Of course birds don't make appointments, so there's no way to tell who you're going to meet. Yesterday was a warm day so I put away most of my winter clothes. Today it was back to being winter, so this was really a wanna wanna see something for SPRINGTIME. The first choice on my list was to see a kinglet. The second choice was to see any warbler.
Walking through the woods is relaxing. Yes, I've got nut bits, but not obviously. I suspect that some of the small birds know me. That, or they have x-ray vision and can see into my pockets. Eyeball to eyeball contact, or is it reflection in the lens? The nuthatch is a cautious friend, watches all surrounding activity before coming close for food. It can take time before the nuthatch feels safe enough to snatch-and-dash. It won't even come close if a smaller bird is nearby. Elegant, sleek, self-sufficient, and appreciative of an occasional treat.
First meeting. I can never get tired of watching the cormorant..... letting wings dry and looking like a mighty symphonic conductor, big dark beauty with the prettiest eyes.