September 22, 2026
Where: n/a
When: n/a
Bird Species: none, rainout
Things I Thought About:
- I have never in my life made a Magic Eye work for me. Not one time.
- Disgraced myself in pre-meeting Teams chit-chat by becoming very confused by the difference between the first day of fall and the vernal equinox. The vernal equinox, I am now given to understand, moves?
- But also, I truly thought that the first day of seasons was always the 21st, and I guess that is not right either?
- “The 21st of June is the last day of spring” makes no goddamn sense. I stand by this, even if it does make me look like I went to elementary school before they wrote the Farmer's Almanac.
- I gather the equinox is in fact today at 8:00 pm ET. Congratulations. You are now allowed to put all the spooky shit out on your lawn.
BOTD: white ibis. I was thinking about The Muppets earlier today, as I often do, so when I was picking a rainy-day bird for the blog I went for the most Muppety ones I've ever seen in person.
I've seen glossy ibis at the Hook, and there were two juvenile white ibis at Huntley two summers ago, but the only time I've ever seen full-grown adult white ibis was a phenomenal visit to Chincoteague Island NWR in October of 2024. That will be my next trip out of town for birding.
When they fly, they do this very interesting thing where they flapflapflap very quickly and then just glide for long distances. It looks very cool and efficient. And of course that profile is unmistakable.
There is rain in the forecast all week, so bear with me for a few vibe-based selections like these as needed.
