bird 16

pine warbler
dendroica pinus


i have always enjoyed birds.  enjoyment turned to obsession in june of 1999.  i was given a pair of binoculars and a life list for my birthday. they became permanent accessories as i twitched and ticked my way around the countryside, adding 172 birds to my life list.  in july of 2003, i shelved my bird books and lost my binoculars to the "junk drawer".  

this afternoon i heard the familiar call of the chipping sparrow.  they're back! i picked up my camera and headed out to sit on the porch.  i leaned back against the woodpile, stretched my legs out in front of me, and lazily took photo after photo.  it doesn't get much better than this, i thought.

enter stage left, a flash of olive and yellow.  i sat up.  a goldfinch?  female?  she flew to another lilac.  nope.  skinny black bill.  a warbler?  my shutter flew as she moved to the outer branches, then landed on the feeder to eat suet before flying away.  suet?  i headed in to find my bird book.  sure enough.  she is a pine warbler.  (and yes, they do eat suet.)  i consult my life list.  she is also a "lifer", a first siting of a particular bird for me.

i see life as a bundle of series.  they begin, they end, sometimes they return, unexpectedly.  mrs. pine warbler, thank you.  you are that unexpected return.  i add you to my life list, bird number 173.  life list