A Bird First (for me)
Today while walking across campus I noticed a couple of birds flitting about in the trees. Upon closer examination of the birds, I realized they were blue. Now I only know of three birds that are mostly-blue: blue jays, indigo buntings, and bluebirds. Jays are easy enough to figure out, and I’ve never known anyone who’s seen a bunting before. So my gut reaction was bluebird.
And lo and behold, after looking them up at Cornell University’s All About Birds site, I’m right. A new bird for me: the Eastern Bluebird. I’m happy.
Photo courtesy of Splinter Group at Flickr under a Creative Commons license. Thanks Splinter Group!
By Becca, 12/6/2006 @ 12:26 am
Cool–another life bird for you! You’re going to be listing and chasing soon. You will be assimilated…
By Amanda, 12/6/2006 @ 12:55 am
Ooh, what a nice find! I’m very fond of blue-colored birds myself (especially blue jays, even though they are mean.) Another good one is the tufted titmouse (slightly more of a blue-grey.) I saw them all the time growing up around here… they always showed up at the sunflower seed feeder with the chickadees.
BTW, hi, I’m Amanda, another Boston-area librarian, and I like your blog!
By liberace, 12/6/2006 @ 8:38 am
It was probably a sparrow. A cold sparrow.
By Rachel, 12/6/2006 @ 9:46 am
That’s an Eastern bluebird alright! They’re so cute. A couple of years ago, I took a picture of one on my birthday. Aha! Here it is, I found it.
Bird watching is fun. Bird photographing is really hard, but incredibly rewarding.
By jennimi, 12/7/2006 @ 3:45 pm
LG! Congrats on your first blue! Something I love so much about seeing blue in nature. I’ve seen many indigo buntings in Allegany (southwestern New York State) so you’ll just have to pay us a visit. (They’re actually a deep black reflecting blue in sun). Also, I absolutely adore the shy but harmonious black-throated blue warbler!
As we say, good birding! Looking forward to more updates!