[EBB Sightings] blessed by birds

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   After a frustrating day yesterday in the world of humans, I headed up
to Huckleberry Preserve for an end of the day stroll and attitude
adjustment.
I was not disappointed. For the first time in a while, I saw a =
Nuttall=92s
woodpecker there; he posed prettily for me, and I watched him work an
oak limb.
Superficially similar in plumage to the Hairy Woodpecker, the =
Nuttall=92s
dainty bill was in strong contrast to the hefty bill of a Hairy. Also,
his calls and pecking were much softer that those made by his bigger
brethren. Cute little guy. It brought to mind an odd incident from my
daughter=92s childhood. An equally adorable Downy had hit our picture
window, and been killed. Since it was in perfect condition, I had placed
it in the freezer, to pass it off to my friend Howard for future
taxidermy. Several weeks later my child, about 6 years old at the time,
asked her father for a sandwich. Dad went to the kitchen, grabbed two
slices of dark rye, a leaf of lettuce, and the Downy, which fit
perfectly between the slices of bread. He put it on a plate, and brought
it over to her. Syd took one look, rolled her eyes, and said, =93Oh,
Dad...!=94  Fortunately, the kid was born with a great sense of humor; =
in
this family, she needed it!
=20
Back at the trail, I had amazing looks at Wrentits. Normally quite shy,
these perched in clear view, and great light, and I watched them feed on
poison oak berries (unlike with the huckleberries, I didn=92t feel
compelled to sample them myself). I was happy to see Stellar=92s jays =
out
and about. One jay gave the =93flying saucer call=94, my personal =
favorite
(red-tail imitations are so pass=E9, don=92t you think?). I always feel
compelled to join in the fun, so I gave one of my weird popping noises
back, and had jays dropping silently out of the trees to check me out. A
band tailed pigeon flew through the canyon, and I heard the low hoots of
a Great Horned Owl as the shadows lengthened in the thick trees on the
Sibley side. As I hopefully scanned the power lines up canyon, I thought
that I saw what might=92ve been an eagle, but it was too far, and =
shadows
from the struts can create a bird-like shape. Without much hope (I
almost never see eagles anymore on Round Top) I glassed the com towers,
the eagles=92 former favorite perch. There, by god, was not just one
eagle, but two. The huge female was at the top of the middle tower, her
relatively puny mate one strut below. What a treat. Maybe they just come
back once all the human bustle is over for the day.
=20
Needless to say, by the end of my walk I was feeling like the world had
been put to rights again.
=20
Debbie Viess

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color=3Dnavy
face=3D"Times New Roman">=A0=A0 After a frustrating day =
yesterday in the
world of humans, I headed up to Huckleberry Preserve for an end of the =
day stroll
and attitude adjustment.


color=3Dnavy
face=3D"Times New Roman">I =
was not disappointed.
For the first time in a while, I saw a Nuttall’s
woodpecker there; he posed prettily for me, and I watched him work an =
oak limb.


color=3Dnavy
face=3D"Times New Roman">Superficially similar
in plumage to the Hairy Woodpecker, the Nuttall’s
dainty bill was in strong contrast to the hefty bill of a Hairy. Also, =
his
calls and pecking were much softer that those made by his bigger =
brethren. Cute
little guy. It brought to mind an odd incident from my daughter’s
childhood. An equally adorable Downy had hit our picture window, and =
been
killed. Since it was in perfect condition, I had placed it in the =
freezer, to
pass it off to my friend Howard for future taxidermy. Several weeks =
later my
child, about 6 years old at the time, asked her father for a sandwich. =
Dad went
to the kitchen, grabbed two slices of dark rye, a leaf of lettuce, and =
the Downy,
which fit perfectly between the slices of bread. He put it on a plate, =
and
brought it over to her. Syd
took one look, rolled her eyes, and said, “Oh, Dad...!” =
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>=A0Fortunately, the kid was born with =
a great
sense of humor; in this family, she needed =
it!


color=3Dnavy face=3DArial> =

color=3Dnavy face=3DArial>Back at the =
trail, I had
amazing looks at Wrentits. Normally quite =
shy, these
perched in clear view, and great light, and I watched them feed on =
poison oak
berries (unlike with the huckleberries, I didn’t feel compelled to =
sample
them myself). I was happy to see Stellar’s jays
out and about. One jay gave the “flying saucer call”, my =
personal
favorite (red-tail imitations are so pass=E9, don’t you think?). I =
always
feel compelled to join in the fun, so I gave one of my weird popping =
noises
back, and had jays dropping silently out of the trees to check me out. A =
band
tailed pigeon flew through the canyon, and I heard the low hoots of a =
Great
Horned Owl as the shadows lengthened in the thick trees on the Sibley =
side. As I
hopefully scanned the power lines up canyon, I thought that I saw what =
might’ve
been an eagle, but it was too far, and shadows from the struts can =
create a
bird-like shape. Without much hope (I almost never see eagles anymore on =
Round
Top) I glassed the com towers, the eagles’ former favorite perch. =
There,
by god, was not just one eagle, but two. The huge female was at the top =
of the
middle tower, her relatively puny mate one strut below. What a treat. =
Maybe
they just come back once all the human bustle is over for the =
day.


color=3Dnavy face=3DArial> =

color=3Dnavy face=3DArial>Needless to say, =
by the
end of my walk I was feeling like the world had been put to rights =
again.


color=3Dnavy face=3DArial> =

size=3D2
 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial>Debbie Viess





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