lifers

April 25, 2026

Bird of the Day: the American bittern. Very cool, very fun, good bird.

Where: Huntley Meadows Park

When: 12:50pm

Bird Species: American robin, yellow-rumped warbler, common grackle, downy woodpecker, tufted titmouse, northern cardinal, mourning dove, red-headed woodpecker, mallard, Canada goose, blue-gray gnatcatcher, common yellowthroat, white-throated sparrow, wood duck, red-winged blackbird, white-eyed vireo (lifer), eastern bluebird, American bittern (lifer), great egret, great horned owl, greater yellowlegs, barn swallow

Things I Thought About:

I have to leave for the airport at 4:45am. All I am thinking about is packing, and do I have trial size contact lens solution, and if I'm going to enjoy these co-workers who I barely know for a stressful work week.
That...is birdsong I've never heard before. It's beautiful. Oh, there it is...holy shit. Look at that eye. I have definitely never seen this pretty little bird before. Oh, boy, if I don't see another bird today, this will be a great day. Lifer, right away.

White- eyed vireo, the first of two lifers today. I hear red-eyed vireos all summer and have seen them a time or two. They like to stay at the tops of trees and they sing-song back and forth all day long. This song was so pretty, and he was so low, I'm almost surprised they are both called vireos. That eye ring is very cool.

Here are some stats: 184 people have signed up for this newsletter. Incredible numbers; I thought I might get 30. I was shocked the first time someone signed up and it wasn't someone I knew. Some of them are just strangers who like birds. Unreal.
Of those 184, 28 have unsubscribed. Which, honest to God, I would have expected more. I send an email every day. If I was a shoe store, you'd report me for spam.
That means 156 people are getting this issue of the newsletter. The average open rate on the newsletter is 76%, which is shockingly high to me.
61 people have a 100% open rate. I can't believe it. It's humbling. You crazy beautiful fools. I don't even open my personal email every week. Ten of you have opened my email every day since before January 14, when the free trial version of the platform expired.
Today is the 115th day of 2026. That's 115 Birds of the Day. You people are really hanging in there.
Oh, lol, the great horned owlet is starting to get its tufts. These birds are Muppets. The horns make the mom look like a Muppet rabbit.

*Look how insanely cute that bird is in his picnic basket. The mom was in a separate tree, watching over it. The other one is in there somewhere.*

Since I've started this blog, I've only missed getting a photo on the same day twice. I am actually immensely proud of this. My resolutions usually fall apart way before a hundred days. I usually don't even start them until after the Super Bowl. I was really determined to do this hard. Neither snow nor rain nor gloom of night, etc.
You know what does stay this birder from the swift appointment of her rounds, though? The Department of Defense.
Lol, "swift appointment" is a bird pun.
So tomorrow I am traveling for an interesting scientific event, largely attended by enlisted military medics and embassy personnel, Fort Bragg-adjacent. It's high security, long days, bomb-dogs, only two exits, armed guards on the cadaver labs, etc.
In any event, there is statistically about a zero percent chance I will even see the outside of the venue, and I'm afraid it's six whole days. Plus, I will be working 12 hour days at registration the whole time. Can't do birds this week, pals.

*"What do you mean, No Birds??" See,* *I told you* *they look mad.*

Does that mean your inbox will get a break? Not on your life. You WISH.
I have trained you to open my emails every day, and I'm afraid to let you off the hook now. Plus, you know, a handful of people have told me they really look forward to it every day as a pick-me-up, which is wonderful.
So, a newsletter will continue to come every day. I'm pulling a few birds from my collection that I want to show you, with the delightful mix of profane commentary and mediocre photography you've come to expect. You'll have to wait until May 2 for the return of the star of the show, my stream-of-consciousness, real-time jibbering.
Also this week, there will be some special guest birders! I have reached out to a couple of pals, some of which have been spoken of on this very blog, to talk about a bird, and I'm really excited to share. (Remember you can always tell me about a bird at skwbotd@gmail.com. I think I'd love to take a few more Zeros in the future, and would love to have some Guest Birders on tap.)
Okay, so I'm going to have two lifers today. I had heard this bittern was in the park, but had no expectation I'd see him in all the grass. Phenomenal day. This is the kind of day that can tide a girl over for a week inside.
This is just to say that I can't believe so many people have been interested in this endeavor. I'm so happy you're still reading. No one regrets more than I that the streak must be broken for so long, but I am certain to come back refreshed, and with a lot of comp time banked, to be myself in real time again.

BOTD: American bittern. This is another on like the king rail, a rare bird to see, not just for me, for everyone. Another one who loves that dense marsh grass and reeds; a lot of my photos are through a scrim of cover. His plumage pattern is so very cool, and the skin around his neck is actually an air sac. They have a very weird low pitched grunting call they make by inflating their throats, but cruelly he did not make it today. I would have fucking loved to have seen that, but the purpose of it is to communicate through dense vegetation, and he's the only one here.