March 28, 2026

Where: Huntley Meadows Park

When: 7:23 am

Bird Species: northern cardinal, tufted titmouse, downy woodpecker, red-bellied woodpecker, red-shouldered hawk, swamp sparrow, song sparrow, mallard, green-winged teal, hooded merganser, Canada goose, turkey vulture (flyover), wood duck, great blue heron, American coot, American robin, eastern phoebe, red-winged blackbird, rusty blackbird, American goldfinch, mourning dove, great horned owl, Carolina chickadee, eastern bluebird, redheaded woodpecker

Things I Thought About:

• It’s difficult to share Things I Thought About today because I had company! I was talking most of the time, giving the Huntley loop tour, and if there is one thing I do not do when speaking it is think.
• Things We Talked About: my new job, the niece needing a sports physical because she decided at the last minute she want to run track, how cold it is again, Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch, who we worry about, and whether the niece wants to see Ready or Not 2 tonight.
• My sister asked earlier this week if I would show her the owl nest. To be completely candid, it was more of a “You would show me the owl nest, right?” following last weekend’s adventures in grudging.
• I told her very seriously she had to be at my house no later than seven in order for us to drive over and be able to park after last Saturday's crowd, without for one moment considering that last weekend it was 65 and this morning is 33 degrees with wind gusts up to 15 mph. When we left there were easily 8 parking spots. We all could have slept in. Rebecca heroically did not mention this.
• As is the usual fashion when one is excited to show someone a good time at a wildlife sanctuary, it’s dead out here. Mortifying, like when you admit to having a crush on someone and then he shows up to the party surly and drunk.
• “This is my favorite part, where it opens up and you start seeing a lot more birds,” I tell her. We do not start seeing a lot more birds. I’m bombing.
• But at the very least I will be able to show her the owl, who isn’t going anywhere.
• I feel like a parent waiting for their child to perform a solo, knowing I’ll love it regardless, but I want everyone to love it.  I am in a haze of anxiety that I made her get up at six on a Saturday and she won’t be able to list any birds. 
• Hey! There’s a hawk, right up there, can’t miss it. Now we’re getting somewhere.

• Rebecca has never seen wood ducks, either. One obligingly hops out of the water so she can see that the females have color blocking near their tail. That one, at least, nailed the solo.
• There’s the American coot. My sister is thrilled. She did the little jumpy cheering motion when she got the picture and said “that’s one of the birds I came here to see” which is how I know she has a secret agenda.

• We were not 20 minutes in before she said, “It’s on the back side of the tree and also completely backlit, that little fucker.” The fundamental birding experience. I'm so proud.
• I like how red-wing blackbirds not only scream constantly, but they look like they are puking up the scream. I have already said “that might be a –nope, it’s female red-winged blackbird” twice, the notoriously mis-identifiable bird living up to her reputation.

• There is a geocache in this park. We have looked for it before, honestly years ago, and missed it, but today we find it. I have had the app on my phone for ages, she and I and the niece found a lot of them a few years back, but I only ever look for them now when I’m with her. I had forgotten how fun and satisfying an activity this is! We sign the logbook, “Silky Biscuits,” our quiz team name since 2004. 
• Finally to the owl nest. Later I will have to admit that I didn’t realize the owlet had rolled over and his whole face was showing, I just started clicking because everyone else started clicking. In humble retrospect, after downloading the photos, allow me to say “Squeeeeeee.” 

• The owl is very cool. Rebecca is impressed by the owl. She has been impressed by the owl, the wood ducks, the coot, how good I am at peeing in the woods, and a muskrat. Unimpressed with the cold, the wind, and her knees, which, fair.
• Leaving the owl, she tells me she has now seen 66% of the birds she came here to see. The third is the osprey, which I DO show her, but it is gone before she can really get a good look at the hover. Next time. 
• “There’s an Eastern phoebe.” “How do we know it’s an Eastern phoebe?” “Because…that’s what one looks like.” This answer is another thing with which she is not impressed, and again, fair. 
• On the way out, a male and female Eastern bluebird are obligingly letting us look at them. I like the soft colors on the female, it makes their eyes look very Disney-fied.

• It’s a pretty good morning with my sister, who I love. We are both indoor kids; I am just an indoor kid with an outdoors hobby. We never do this sort of thing together, and it’s nice.
• I barely took any pictures; my job was to stand behind her and point at things and say things like “see the patch near her tail?” and “there’s nothing to stop you from just picking a tree and worshipping it for religion” and the like.
• Rebecca listed 8 lifers today. She missed the redheaded woodpecker all four times I pointed it out.

BOTD: the green-winged teal. There were several married couples foraging in the first pond, and you could tell the park was dead because there were quite a few very serious photographers with long lenses taking photos of a very common duck. I was very happy to get a shot that shows their beautiful head coloring, and the reflection was awfully nice. The bright, satiny emerald green on the female's wings is always something to see, too.