backyard birds

September 27, 2026

Sara Kate Wilkinson

Sara Kate Wilkinson

— 2 min read
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September 27, 2026
Bird of the Day: song sparrow in the rain.

Where: my balcony

When: off and on most of the day

Bird Species: song sparrow, northern mockingbird, blue jay, house sparrow, northern cardinal, gray catbird, pileated woodpecker, American robin, American crow, European starling, mourning dove

Things I Thought About:

  • Bored. Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored.
  • The audiobook I have been listening to all day is too horny for the balcony.
  • The walking boot serves the purpose very well, but it is fatiguing. I had to run an errand this morning, and then I practiced standing on my tiptoes, and now I am a little sore. Normal and to be expected.
  • Just as I did for the initial injury, also in the fall, I spend most of my time doing ice packs (15 minutes on, 15 minutes off) on the balcony. It's nice, even on a rainy day.
This young mockingbird ran through his song repertoire for most of the morning from the top of the tree closest to me.
  • Today has been gray with drizzle off and on, and there has been a nice selection of birds. All the neighborhood regulars have made themselves known, including two blue jays that have been screaming at each other for about a week.
This bird is always a beautiful splash of color, no matter the season or weather.
  • For the second time this weekend I see a pileated woodpecker fly into view, and then immediately lose him in the yards across the street. Nice that he's hanging around. I'm sure I'll get another chance at him soon.

BOTD: song sparrow. I haven't seen one of these in my tree for a while, just house sparrows. Hasn't been bird of the day since June. He wasn't singing, but it was still nice to see him. This is my second favorite sparrow; I love the neatness of the streaks on his breast and how the brown looks almost maroon sometimes. My favorite sparrows are the white-throated ones, but they aren't back yet.

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