Yesterday I saw the bird that I've been wanting to see since I first started birding.
I was sitting on Prior's bed, looking out her window with my binoculars like I do, and there were Robins, so naturally I'm looking for Varied Thrushes, because they sometimes like to hang out with Robins. I see a biggish bird at the top of the tree right outside her window, give it a closer look and BAM, right there it is, the Varied Thrush, the bird in my avatar, the twin peaks bird herself, just hanging out on a tiny branch near the tippy top of the tree! I'm stoked. I have been wanting this for five months now and it's everything I hoped it would be. She was a great bird, a nice size, around the size of a robin, but more more elegant, with really great subtle markings (none of that super intense striping that the male Varied Thrush has).
The female Varied Thrush.
Anyway, I needed to share that.
On Monday I was adrift in a sea of darkness and depression of the seasonal variety and had to have a meeting with my boss. Unlike my former boss, this one I trust to be able to say "Hey I'm depressed" without getting fired, so I do that when she's asking how I am. She gives me the rest of the day off and says "Go birding!" So I do.
I hit Theler Wetlands, our closest wetlands preserve and one of my favorite places to bird super locally. It's beautiful out, and the first time I've been there while the sun was going down. I got to see the colors of the sunset reflected across the miles of water in Lynch Cove, with the silhouettes of diving ducks, green-winged teals, buffleheads and a few unidentified swallows darting around above the water like enormous mosquitos.
Two men come up to me separately, both likely retirement age, and we talk about the juvenile bald eagles (I wasn't sure what they were yet) in trees behind us. They have different priorities than birding, but seem really happy to talk to me about birds. One of them tells me he saw an American Dipper earlier and some Murrelets out in the cove. I don't say it, but I think he's full of shit. I think he probably saw a Marsh Wren and some Bufflehead, but he wanted to show off, I think. One of the things I've learned in my decade of being openly a woman is to take a secret pleasure in letting men be confidently wrong around me. What do I care. I'm just happy to be engaging with other people whom I'd normally never talk to, and to be talking about my favorite thing in the world: birds.
The Green-Winged Teal: I mean it's cool or whatever
The only new thing I saw was a green-winged teal and that's cool but mostly I'm not the most excited about ducks. I prefer raptors and songbirds and the non-duck waterbirds like Grebes and Loons and Alcids. Not sure why. Nothing wrong with a duck! It just doesn't get me hyped up like a shorebird or something does.
That said, I'm realizing that as much as seeing new birds is very exciting, it's also really exciting seeing more of the same birds. Getting to see them around, hear them, watching their behavior. It's like seeing new friends again and getting to know them better. I've seen a ton of Bald Eagles that this point but who could ever bet bored of watching such an impressive bird? I mean I guess a lot of people could. I'm not under the impression that everyone is as excited about nature and birds as I am. Shit, I didn't used to be. I always liked going out and being in nature, but it was just about having a nice walk. Actively seeking to observe and understand the life and nature around me through focusing on one element is an entirely different prospect and I don't think I ever realized how excited I could really get about it. But here we are!
<3 Sara