Two Birds

Today I took my big camera along on our walk for the first time in a LOOOOOOONG time. The Husband groaned. My hope was to snag a photo of a warbler of some sort or something else interesting. I did hear a Yellow-throated Warbler, but I'll never get a photo of it because it's across the road from the hayfield as we're walking along the side of it and deep in some trees so probably useless to try. I've been hearing it for at least a week and only just figured out what it is. But anyway - what I did get a photo of was a "FOY" Gray Catbird (first of year) that has arrived back from its winter break. I couldn't tell what it was because it was so backlit - but I was able to tell once I saw the photo on the computer. Made me laugh because it's a mimic (like Mockingbirds and Brown Thrashers) and I heard it do a snippet of a Scarlet Tanager and was wondering if it was *just* a Mockingbird. And also a Chipping Sparrow (the one on the right) which is part of what will be an ongoing project involving trying to determine if every trilling bird I hear is a chippie, or if some of them are Pine Warblers. In theory their trills sound different. But every time I think maybe it's a Pine Warbler I either can't see it, or when I do see it, it's a Chipping Sparrow. Chipping Sparrows usually sound somewhat insect like, but a many of the ones along Chapel Spring Lane - and there are a LOT of them - seem to trill rather slowly and sound like... birds. Or like Pine Warblers, if you will. I literally see at least 10 or fifteen Chipping Sparrows every time we walk. I almost never see one at our house, which is not far away as the sparrow flies. Weird. The same is true of Eastern Bluebirds. There are at least four or five nesting pairs along that dirt road, and bunches at a friends house that is between the dirt road and our house. Meanwhile we are lucky to get one pair. Ah well. It's a very birdy road to walk down, so it's always fun (for me - The Husband doesn't care). Oh! And I'm hearing Wood Thrushes here at our house (in the woods) - so they're back too! Those we do have at our house - which is great because they sound amazing. Meanwhile, I'm still waiting for the Eastern Pewees to show up.

The other things I took photos of today were flowers. Wisteria is blooming, as are some bearded iris, lily of the valley and lilacs.