Happily, I had my first yard Black-capped Chickadee this afternoon;
unhappily, I found it after I heard the "thump" of the little thing hitting
my office window. I looked up to see it perched in the witch hazel that
normally keeps local yard birds from hitting it. I guess because this bird
was newly arrived it didn't realize the window was there. I heard a second
thump at a different window, so I assume a hawk was hunting in the woods
here-that's the only time we have bird strikes anymore.

 

Anyway, the chickadee-who recovered in a few seconds and chipped as it flew
away-had the extra white on the wings, the white shoulder, the wider patch
of black on the back of the head, and the uneven black bib, plus it looked
big for a chickadee. I thought I saw one yesterday when I walked up to the
feeder to fill it, but didn't get a good enough look.

 

What really makes me groan is realizing that I drove right past the park
where the Say's Phoebe was on Friday, only because I was in a bad hotspot
that day during an all-day meeting in Largo, and could not see my email
until I got home that night. It would have been a life bird. I guess that's
birding for you. I did, however, stop for an hour at the Chesapeake Bay
Environmental Center where I saw 6 Mallards, 1 male Kingfisher, 3
Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1 Osprey, 1 Immature Bald Eagle, 3 Eastern Towhees, 1
Northern Junco, and dozens of kinglets, more Golden-crowned than
Ruby-crowned. One of the Sharpies showed off by diving alongside my car. It
was a nice, quiet place to decompress after two days of intense meetingitis.
(All you retired folks, stop snickering!)

 

Happy Halloween, everyone.

 

Pat Valdata

Eight miles north of Elkton, MD