Easy Does It

Red-breasted Nuthatch.  Photo by John Killian.

We all have stories about what it took to get a bird we really wanted to see.  A few years ago I spent nine hours staring at a single tree where a Lazuli Bunting was known to hang out.  That day was the only one out of about two weeks that the bird didn't show.  Typical.  Another time I stood in absolutely freezing temperatures along Bottoms Road waiting until dark for a Short-eared Owl to emerge.  I couldn't feel my toes any more!  Finally most of my group gave up and started back to the cars.  I lingered with a few others and one of them played a Short-eared Owl call once.  The bird exploded out of the marsh right in front of me and flew directly over my head.   It had been there all along.  Lifer!

On the other hand, I got my life Greater White-fronted Goose while driving past a retention pond in front of a Home Depot.  Looked out my window, saw the bird, and kept driving.  And I got my life Scissor-tailed Flycatcher when the bird flew up to me while I was looking at another bird.

Photo by John Killian

Today was one of those easy days.  I had heard that a local birder, John Killian, had two Red-breasted Nuthatches visiting his feeders.   Now, John Killian and I have many things in common.  We both love the outdoors in general and birding in particular.  We both retired on the same day from the same school.  Together we spent about 80 years in teaching.  And to my good fortune, he is also a very gracious host.  He invited me to a stake out this morning on his patio.  I arrived at his house at about 8:32.  He was standing outside his door saying that the bird had been at the birdbath seven minutes earlier.  We moved to the patio, took our seats, and about ten minutes later I was expressing my appreciation as I was making my way out the door.  It was that easy.  The little guy perched on a broken limb right above us and John took the pictures above on the left.  It was my Alachua County lifer #278.  It doesn't get much easier.

On a side note, I received the photos below from a fellow "Red Van Gangster."  She has a hose that leaks in a bunch of spots and is wound into a live oak in her back yard.  The birds love it.  One of the drips has left a small hole in the ground. Earlier today a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker belly flopped into the hole, stuck his head under the dripping water, and played for about five minutes.  I thought you would like to see the pictures.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

"There's nothing like a dip in the pool on a warm day in Florida!"