A Bird’s-Eye View

4 Nov

We were very lucky in that we emerged relatively unscathed from Hurricane Sandy. Heartfelt thoughts to all those who are still coping with the aftermath, especially in Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, New York, and New Jersey.

One small bright spot, at least in our area, is that after the rains came the birds. They were everywhere after the hurricane, flapping their wings, puffing up their feathers, and trying to dry out. But birds like water, so it was a cheerful exercise. As they hopped, skipped, and flew here and there looking for worms, berries, and seeds, they were an optimistic sight.

There were cardinals, finches, mourning doves, nuthatches, robins, sparrows, woodpeckers, and a tiny grey/yellow bird I hadn’t seen before: a Goldcrest, who hopped on shrubs to get the seeds that had fallen from the bird feeders above. There were other birds, too, whose names I do not yet know. I consider it a significant step that I can now recognize a sparrow well enough to deduce that it must be either a House Sparrow or Field Sparrow–beyond that, they are all brown/grey and fluffy to me. But known or unknown, the avian visitors to our yard are a joy to watch.

Female Cardinal Male Cardinal