Confession

This confession could totally tarnish my image as a fun and cool thirty-something, but in order to post my pictures from today, I have to make it. So here goes- I like watching birds. In fact I think I might be turning into a bird watcher. Aghhh. I can't believe I just typed that, but I am pretty sure it is true. I am more than content to sit quietly at my glass doors and watch the Sparrows and Chickadees flit to and from the bird feeder. I find myself smiling when I see our resident pair of Cardinals emerge from the pine trees at the same time. I already posted a picture of one of our Turtle Doves, but I masked my emerging bird-watching passion by presenting the bird as an old family friend instead of as the subject of that day's bird spotting. I now know of several helpful bird identification websites and get quite a thrill when I successfully match a name with a face. I have even started listening to see if I can tell what bird is in our trees, just by its song. I know, stop. Enough all ready!

That said, (with a deep sigh, it feels good to have all that out in the open), today was an amazing day of bird spotting.

 When I opened our bedroom curtains this morning, I was greeted by our lovely Cardinals. So I ran downstairs, got my camera, ran back upstairs, and threw open the window (luckily the screen was gone because we take them all out every Christmas to hang our decorations and don't put them back until the Spring). So hanging out my bedroom window, in my bathrobe, I got a shot of this guy- Monday, January 23.

 As I started scanning the trees, I noticed another patch of red and then another. I couldn't believe it! All together there were 4 male Cardinals and 2 female Cardinals enjoying the foggy morning in our front trees. I asked a few of them to pose and smile for the camera. They were so obliging- Monday, January 23.

 Then, just as I was about to pack it up, feeling quite pleased with the fruits of a great few minutes of bird watching, a small flock of Starlings swooped in to join the Cardinals. They are beautiful birds, especially today because they were surprisingly quiet- Monday, January 23.

 After watching the Starlings for a bit, I saw what I swore was a Robin. I was sure I had just seen a flit of red from one of the Cardinals, we never have Robins around here at this time of year. But then I heard what I thought was a Robin's call. Sure enough, one lonely Robin had swooped in with the flock of Starlings. Of course, when I was done taking pictures, I ran to the computer to see if such a thing actually happens. I was pleased to find a few reports of solo Robins joining flocks of other birds, specifically Starlings, on a couple of bird watching forums. No, I am not a member of any of the forums, they just came up when I Googled my question. Honest- Monday, January 23.

This is a cool silhouette of the Starlings through the fog. The birds flew to a tree in our neighbor's yard when they were startled by my children bursting into my room, wondering in loud voices what had happened to me between getting out of the shower and coming down to supervise breakfast making. The Oldest saw what I was doing and said to the other two, "Mom's got her camera." No kidding, they sighed in unison and ran to find something to do. They are learning quickly it's best not to interrupt mom when she's got a camera in her hand, especially when it's pointed at birds- Monday, January 23.