Me? I'm Feeling Better, Thanks. Contest Anyone?

Thankfully, I have (almost) fully recovered from last week's cold. A few lingering 'memories' remain. A sniffle here, a sneeze there. I'm sure you get the idea. So I don't really have all that much to tell you that you probably don't already know.

What happened this week so far? Hmm.

I saw a LIFE bird: Three RUSTY BLACKBIRDS to be exact. RUSTY BLACKBIRDS are in the midst of some serious issues lately (the past few decades). Their populations have declined more than almost any other bird species in North America (except for maybe the CAROLINA PARAKEET and the PASSENGER PIGEON). Read all about the plight of the RUSTY BLACKBIRD HERE. No wonder they've been so hard to find!

And I ALMOST forgot to mention... a sizable ice shelf has broken off in Antarctica. Think Connecticut falling off of the continental United States and you have an idea of the magnitude of the melt. Our time and energy would be well-served if everyone devoted time and energy to taking care of THIS our one and only earth. Nothing like a little global warming to bring us all together, right? We could all hold hands and sing.

It makes all of the other stuff we worry about seem rather small in comparison.

Or, we could all just look at some birds.If you can name all of the birds in the photos above, I'll give you a free BEN'S BONES "Live at the Ram's Head On Stage" CD! A compact disc is like an MP3, only it's round, reflective and plays in a CD player. You still have one, right? Not to worry, you can rip it on your computer in no time at all.

First one to get 'em all correct gets the CD! No cheating.

All the best,

Dan

A Visit To The WHITE DUCK (Josh & Anne's Sailboat)

I decided not to start on my taxes today. The weatherman, if you'll believe this, was wrong! It was not very windy, mostly sunny with only a smattering of clouds overhead. So after working in the garden and cleaning the house, I decided to venture out for a quick lunchtime hike.

My bass friend Josh, lead bassist and rocker for the band BEN'S BONES (did you get your tickets yet?), was busy sprucing up his boat, the WHITE DUCK. I decided to pay him a visit and bird the area near his dock. What an amazing two hours this afternoon.A photogenic HERMIT THRUSH was nice. I was delighted to show Josh and his wife Anne an adult BALD EAGLE flying low and straight towards us up their creek. A pair of KINGFISHERS and GREAT BLUE HERONS were two added treats to our afternoon. The chatter and fishing exercises of the KINGFISHERS are always entertaining. But the stars of today's show had to have been a eye-to-eye look at a GREAT HORNED OWL and a flying PEREGRINE FALCON. Ah-May-Zing!

Anne, Josh, their yellow lab Fran and I were walking and I noticed a large bird-sized shadow in the top of the pine tree right above us. I put my bins on the shadow and low and behold, looking down at me was a GREAT HORNED OWL. Crazy.I took this photo, but the RED EYE from the camera flash was a bit awful. I used iPhoto's red-eye reduction, but the results are not all that fantastic. Ahhh, but the event certainly was...On the way back to the car, I caught a glimpse of a falcon's powerful flight and pointed wings. I fired off a couple of shots and really enjoyed seeing this particular PEREGRINE in full flight.I did have one question about this CANADA GOOSE in the center of the photo. Is that anything special, or is this bird just lacking some WHITE on his neck?This part of the blog sucks: I feel it's my duty to mention that I found a deer tick on me this afternoon. It's the middle of winter, but it's still tick season. Be careful those of you who venture into the woods.

I hope your Sunday was even better. I'm grateful to have such a loving wife who lets me run off for a couple of hours to hike and bird. I'm even luckier to have a wonderful son who is nothing but joy. And I swear, after dinner I am going to get after those taxes!
Good Living,

Dan