Only a little after noon, and already a great day!

I went for a walk ’round Shelley Lake this morning–two and a half mile jaunt, good to get SOME exercise–and my god, the birds were crazy. I saw nearly thirty different species, and I’m proud to say that I identified the vast majority of ’em cold, with the exception of the indistinct warbler (still a mystery!) and the eastern phoebe (you get into anything that resembles a flycatcher, and I go for the book) and the crowning achievement of the walk, a migrating Greater Yellowlegs who was wandering around the mudflat at the mouth of the stream that feeds the lake.  That’s a lifer, and a score. There were a bunch of other sandpipery buggers on the mudflat, but it’s so inconveniently located that I’d need better binoculars to get a good ID on the ones that aren’t obviously a killdeer or something. They rent paddleboats there, but I don’t know how easy it is to sneak up on something in a paddle boat, particularly something on a mudflat, which is probably pretty shallow. Anyway, I’d need someone to come with me. (Hey, Carlota, wanna have a potentially soggy adventure….?)

I’m also seeing a LOT of kingfishers lately. I don’t know if we’ve had a bumper crop this year or something, or if I’ve just learned to spot ’em, but we’ve gone from them being a rare sighting to falling-out-of-the-woodwork whenever I go out. I’ve seen them taking fish, which is a joy to behold, and even had them perch surprisingly close to me. I’m even dreaming about them.

I’d say it’s a sign, but the sign would probably be “Eat More Fish” and I hate fish. So I’ll stick to “bumper crop.”

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