Bobolink Closeup (hence a little blurry) – Photo: L. Weikel

A New Discovery

It’s the little things in life that can make my day. And tonight, my day was made because I made a new discovery! I finally took the time to see if I could identify a particular type of bird that’s been actively seeking my attention and which I had a feeling I was misidentifying.

A couple weeks ago I took a bunch of photos of some birds I kept noticing along this one portion of my longer (four mile) walkabout. This is the stretch along which I like to drive at night (and park with my lights out) when I want to watch for meteorites, and it’s also where I spied my Fox kit, and heard coyotes in the distance. The roadway winds its way through pastures that used to field horses, although none have been there in at least a year. It’s a rich haven of diverse, natural encounters.

I’ve noticed these birds along this portion of my walk before (meaning other years). And I’ve had my eye on them a lot over the past month or so, mostly because some evenings I could swear they are actively engaging with me, yammering their melodic song to catch my attention and then flying from one fence post to the next, keeping pace with me as I walk. They seem to be our designated feathered escorts for that leg of our journey.

Red-Winged Blackbirds

Even though, deep down, I knew better, I kept trying to tell myself they were Red-winged Blackbirds. I know Red-winged Blackbirds, for heaven’s sake. I know their call. Their coloring is unmistakable.

Believe it or not, that’s where I tripped myself up. Somehow, in perusing one of my bird apps (yes, I admit to having a few), I convinced myself of a shocking misinterpretation. I told myself that the birds I was seeing were the same as the photos of Red-winged Blackbirds ‘hiding’ the red part of their wings and only showing the yellow.

But those big yellow fluffy feathers on their crowns!? They looked like they were wearing Russian Cossack hats of yellow fur. How could they be Red-winged Blackbirds? Yet I persisted in not following through and doing a little bit more research. (To be honest, I rarely use my phone for anything but taking photos on my walks. It hardly ever occurs to me to look something up on the spot. And inevitably, by the time I got home, I’d long forgotten my desire to identify my feathered friends.)

Feigning Indifference – Bobolink – Photo: L. Weikel

Bobolinks

Well, that lapse in discipline finally came to an end this evening. I remembered to track down the identity of my gregarious little field-dwelling bird friends with the puffy yellow hats and buff-streaked wings.

The interesting thing is, looking at the first several photos of Bobolinks, I’d be inclined to say, “Nope.” But then, continuing to scroll through the photos, I saw one that looked exactly like my supremely handsome friends with the massive Cossack hats.

I think I was moved to look them up tonight because I was bowled over by their incessant conversations and extended post-to-post accompaniment this evening. There were so many of them! Between the Bobolinks and the Bluebirds, I felt celebrated and welcomed back by my Best Birds. (I’ve not managed a walk along that specific leg of my walkabout in several days. It did almost seem like they’d missed me.) And yes, Bluebirds figured prominently this evening as well. At least four of them flew back and forth across my path from one field to the other, seeming to deliberately seek my attention.

It’s the little things in life. Feeling seen (and recognized!) by birds I see almost every day. And positively identifying a few of my new best friends in the avian world: Bobolinks.

Two Bobolink Guys Just Chatting – Photo: L. Weikel

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