A Real Beauty

I had to cover the morning ride to school today. My friend, who graciously picks up First Grader every morning, had a field trip with her daughter, so I got to be the bus driver today. Boy am I glad I did. I spotted this guy sitting on top of a utility pole on the way. I had no camera and no time to stop. But I was pleased, this time around, to see he had waited for my return.

I took these pictures in the baseball fields behind our house. The pole sits right next to the first base dugout of the field farthest down from our house. I was standing on the pitching rubber- Thursday, February 16.

 There was a flock of little birds on the grass right below this pole. They didn't seem one bit concerned about who was sitting at its top. I, on the other hand, kept having images of this guy swooping down at me as I stood helplessly with only my camera to defend myself. I was even a little bit nervous to turn around to walk back home- Thursday, February 16.

I am happy to report that I did make it safely to the back deck, and I spotted these guys on the way. I really dislike black birds, but this pair was so cute sitting there on the branch I couldn't resist taking a picture- Thursday, February 16.

*A general note about my bird identification skills: Except for obvious species, like Cardinals, I have not reached the level of actually having any clue whether a bird I am looking at is male or female. So when I refer to a bird as he or she, it is just because I need a way to type about them. Again, to any secret bird watching experts out there, if I have offended you in any way by my mis-labling of birds, please feel free to contact me. I will be happy to express my true remorse in person as you share with me your knowledge that will show I was way wrong. I'm not too proud to admit error or ignorance, in fact, I would really like to be given the opportunity to do so, preferably someplace quiet, wooded, maybe with binoculars hanging around my neck...