Sea swallows

Field guides will tell you that terns are closely related to gulls and suggest that, because of similar feeding habits and a shared gregariousness, one might find all members of the Laridae family of birds equally deserving of our admiration.

That might be true for you, but I mostly ignore gulls in favor of terns. Exceptions to that are the handsome summer presence of Laughing Gulls and the dainty Bonaparte's in winter.

In terns I see long fast wings that dance over the sun-dappled sea as it heaves at my feet...

and

the hover-and-plunge feeding technique so suited to little waves and the little fish they pluck from the shadows...

and

the dark eyes and sharp downward-pointed bills, the rising cloud of white birds and the storm of their cries all around me...

A particular joy at this time of the season, late July, when young terns and young osprey at Sandy Hook are learning to fish and to make their way in the world is to place myself among them on the bay near to sunset: behind every shell or pebble or bit of sea-drift is the possibility of a young bird waiting for its next meal delivery; a feathered army of birds marching ahead of me until finally I settle myself amongst them, drenched and soggy in the tide, sand-covered and happy.

: )

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Photos:

#1: Common or Forster's? I'm thinking Common, but would welcome hints!

#2: Young Least Tern, begging (and squealing, almost!)

Bad bird photo of the week

(mostly in focus, tho!)

Blackberry

It's hard to appreciate in this photo, but when the sun hits it just right...

: )

So long as it gets me to work and back I'm happy, but a new car is kind of an occasion...

and this one makes me laugh when I see it...

IT'S PURPLE!!

and it reminds me not to take myself too seriously...

(important!)

I christened it properly this evening with a trip to the beach and a gallon of sand.

What I'm craving

change * sun-streaked hair * a warm Jersey tomato * beach, beach, beach * a Lensbaby * pure silliness * a sundress occasion * a picnic in the shade * easy laughter * floating docks * a good nap * daring in the face of reality * courage for a new plan * strength to say what i want, need and must have *grace enough to accept the fallout * a bubble bath * beach plum jelly * Luka kisses * a thunderstorm * black raspberry ice cream * blackberry pearl (please someone talk me out of buying a purplish car!!) * room in your sunshine * a book to get lost in * camel pose * honesty * ice-cold strawberries

Blue hydrangea with blurry kingbird

As you can see, all this time away from the blog has not improved my bird photography skills one bit.

;-)

I love having kingbirds around; they're among my favorite summer birds. A pair has nested in the neighborhood the past two years and I waste a lot of time just imagining explanations for their funny personality quirks...

I knew their babies had fledged this past weekend based solely on the increased frenzy in their parent's shrill, chattering cries.

I was hopeful that there'd be a snapshot like last year's, but no.

One of the parents, scaring up bugs in the hydrangea off the porch, was my best chance at a snapshot and I missed it. Darn misbehaving camera.

;-)

4 (redo)

It's a poor sort of memory that only works backwards.

~Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

So earlier this evening I sat on my little patio wiggling my freshly-painted toes in a roasting pan filled with sand and seashells and water from the Pacific Ocean.

I smiled and giggled and hoped my neighbors couldn't see what I was doing.

The sand and seawater and roasting pan were presented to me a while back in a cardboard box with instructions on how to affect the above photo.

The seashells were mine, collected on a trip last year along my familiar eastern coast, but added for the sake of realism.

;-)

Can anyone, by the way, explain to me why NJ beaches are devoid of proper seashells?

Anyway so... it's not exactly what I had in mind for #4, but it'll do for now and I learned a couple things:

sand from that other coast is very pebbly and must feel nice underfoot

the sea is just as salty-tasting on the other side of the country

of course I tasted it!

(that wasn't in the instructions, tho)

it's good to have friends who travel to far-flung places and are as nutty as you

(or maybe more so)

if you're going to do anything as silly as this, it's best to save it for that moment when the mood strikes you at the end of a very long Terrible Tuesday when you're sick of being the mean-social-worker-lady.

(silliness is an excellent challenge to meanness)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Another attempt at 4 in last year's 39 by 40. I haven't quite perfected the new list just yet.

To feel such love

A lucky girl, my niece.

: )

Things I don't ever want to do

eat snails
a big year
refuse help
karaoke
stop trying
star in a reality tv show
forget to laugh
go to Disney World
believe the worst about people
work weekends again
be perfect
live too far from the ocean
miss the magic in an ordinary moment

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Thanks to MevetS for use of this photo!

What next?

Drew works for the ABA and is down on the gulf monitoring efforts to save birds affected by the oil spill. His blog is one I read for up-to-date information on the recovery efforts and today's update makes me heartsick...

Help me understand how this, too, can be happening?

Plans

Just add sunshine.

When I didn't know what hit me

I'm working on a different kind of list here in the last couple days before that birthday-which-must-not-be-named.

;-)

It's wanting to be a really long list and I'm having fun with making it. It's a list that commemorates the unexpected things that can happen over the course of a year, little moments that I never saw coming, things I had no idea I'd do in a run of 365 days...

I can't lie; it hasn't been the easiest year. There's been parts, in fact, that were so painful I can barely stand to speak of them.

But this is how you get over, I think: you make a list of the good.

So...

This year I:

watched an adult male harrier float over the red of an October cranberry bog

had dumplings in chinatown and alligator sausage in a cream sauce that's to die for

went to a major league baseball game. my first ever. on opening day.

(and the home team won!)

shared black raspberry ice-cream on the first day of summer

realized that I need someone who'll read poetry with me, or write it for me

;-)

spent an afternoon photographing a coworker's adorable babies

wished on a falling star in the mountains at Christmas

learned to like hugs from my big brothers

(well, almost.)

stood high above the New River bridge and then way down below it, again

hosted THE bird-blog carnival and survived

unknowingly started an airport postcard collection

had my hair blown wild as seaweed in a boat on Lake Superior

(and didn't puke!)

got hooked on lavender lemonade and yoga on the boardwalk

watched lots of spectacular sunsets

found the singular most beautiful orchid. period.

got my first ever parking ticket and had my first ever car accident (today!)

(the good in that isn't immediately obvious, but I'm hopeful)

learned to make an omelette and pump gas

finally got over some of my little-girl fears of swimming in the ocean

played poker for laundry money

learned what real heat and humidity feel like

found my 5th grade teacher on Facebook and she remembered me!

saw flamingos!

spent the better part of an afternoon lost on Rte. 3 and found myself at José Tejas

watched ravens weave invisible patterns with the wind

- - - - - - - - - - -

Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don't unravel. ~Author Unknown

I've been blessed this year, for sure.

Yesterday

A visit to NYC...

(which felt kinda counterintuitive on Memorial Day Weekend, considering the horrendous traffic heading OUT of the city)

but I live at the beach

(lucky me, I know)

;-)

I saw Strawberry Fields, finally, and was reminded of my best friend growing up and her total adoration of all things John Lennon...

I wandered around The Ramble in Central Park looking for photographic opportunities and good birds...

and loving the fun edge-aberrations of MevetS' wide-angle lens.

I was prowling for stranger pics and found many...

NYC is especially good for that!

A happy bride on a beautiful day...

Somewhere along those wooded paths, by a bridge, we came upon a drumming group... but this one had singers!

My sense was that they were Cuban and this old guy...

;-)

He totally stole my heart and my imagination and reminded me, somehow, of a long-dead uncle who I wish had lived long enough to share his stories with me..

I very nearly got run over by a bus to take this shot on 42nd street...

NYC is madness!!

death by bus or yellow cab, I wondered, as my short life flashed before my eyes

It's Fleet Week and Steve forced me to talk to lots of handsome sailors...

;-)

Who insist they HAVE TO wear the uniform and don't do it just to pick up girls...

(Right.)

The real reason for this crazy goose-chase across NYC was Manhattanhendge, which we somehow missed...

??

At the end of the day, in Times Square, I felt very much like a country-bumpkin, out of my element, distracted with the bright lights and the madness of city life... and very glad for the little patch of sand waiting for me at home by the sea.

: )

Today

Birds are still singing;

the trees are long past their first delicate greening.

Peepers at the roadside are suddenly quiet.

The northward surge of Spring is past us now.

Summer flowers are blooming;

Canada Mayflowers put on quite a show this year

and I found my first blooming Starflower

(but the photo was awful!)

Birds are looking for homes

in boxes and under bridges,

gathering twigs and feathers.

Or building nests

from vines and rootlets

and whatever magic things they can weave together.

They're making babies.

;-)

Lots and lots of babies!

- - - - - - - - - - - -

I'm planting flowers of my own

and reading books

(and remembering how much I love the poetry of the Spanish language.)

I'm checking-off lists

and working on this year's.

It's a big one!

I'm planning a very private party to celebrate

and wanting to wander some, to contemplate

and squander time, letting it pass ungathered and unregretted.

There's no pictures yet to share.

- - - - - - - - - - -

What're you up to?

All at once

"All at once
The world can overwhelm me
There's almost nothing that you could tell me
That could ease my mind

Which way will you run
When it's always all around you
And the feeling lost and found you again
A feeling that we have no control

Around the sun
Some say
There's gonna be the new hell
Some say
It's still too early to tell
Some say
It really ain't no myth at all...

Nobody really knows
But underneath it all
There's this heart all alone

What about when it's gone
And it really won't be so long
Sometimes it feels like a heart is no place to be singing from at all

There's a world we've never seen
There's still hope between the dreams
The weight of it all
Could blow away with a breeze
If you're waiting on the wind
Don't forget to breathe

Cause as the darkness gets deeper
We'll be sinking so we reach for love
At least something we could hold
But I'll reach to you from where time just cant go

Cause what about when it's gone
And it really wont be so long
Sometimes it feels like a heart is no place to be singing from at all"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Jack Johnson song is here.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Images lifted from here. It's a painful watch, but the least we can do, I think.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research is a somewhat local organization that's directly involved in mitigating this mess we've made. It's also where my small donation is going.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I'm sharing some of the most arresting (and heartbreaking) images I've seen thus far... and wondering at all the fumbling and finger-pointing that's going on while wildlife suffers. Why wasn't there some sort of plan in place... I mean, couldn't this type of disaster have been foreseen?

Lakeside

I'm sort of going through the motions here...

Have you noticed?

Of course you have. I apologize.

Someday soon I'll get back on track, find a place to write from again.

In the meantime, I'm marveling in Spring as much as my full-time job in a cubicle allows. There's lunchtimes spent with strip-mall birds and evenings beside this little lake with swallows and night herons and kingbirds for entertainment. There's been whole weekends devoted to wildflowers and birds and traveling to be with friends.

I wander with my camera, annoyed with this crappy lens, annoyed with how little of the magic I see and the wonder I feel that it seems able to capture, annoyed with my inability to describe any of it in words.

I'm in some sort of a funk, probably.

I'm reading again instead, finally. Voraciously, somehow, after months on end of not being able to concentrate on anything as solid as a book. Probably that's the fuel I need to have anything of import to say here.

Maybe.

;-)

I'm reading about horses again and I'm afraid I might finally have decided what I really want for my 40th.

(laugh)

Bear with me.

Bad bird photo of the week

More warbler butts...

;-)

(there was no shortage of shots like this from this past weekend)

A bird in the hand

brings a quick smile to the face!

I wandered away for a bit on World Series Day to spend a couple minutes with Tom while he banded birds. This is his second spring at Sandy Hook and Saturday found his nets overflowing with migrants! Canadas, like this one, were everywhere... as were Magnolias and Wilson's.

I hung around taking photos and waiting for the rest of the crowd to amble away... finally Tom asked me if I'd like to hold a Magnolia that he'd just finished processing.

Gasp!

I felt strangely hesitant and scared... I'd held birds before, hawks, even tiny hummingbirds, but only injured or window-strike dazed birds. These wide-awake and eager-to-go warblers frightened me with their flutterings and protests.

Silly me... it's just a little bird!

I'm sure my face was as giddy as this lady's was... to feel those feathers in my hand, that tiny beating heart beneath my fingers and its trembling...

A sweet unexpected gift.

: )

World Series 2010

They were almost delirious enough around 7 pm to smile at my camera without much prodding beyond, "Time for the obligatory group photo everyone!"

;-)

We'd been out for better than 12 hours at that point and had just about tallied our total for the day, save for the odd swallow and a bittern that never materialized. It was a fabulous day for birds... the kind of day where you just want to plant yourself in one spot and watch wave after wave of migrants come to you; it was that good! Sandy Hook can be spectacular under the right conditions and this year's World Series of Birding was just such a day. We ended with a record-setting (for us) 143 species!

And to think some birders go midnight to midnight and traipse across the whole state for less.

;-)

Bad bird pics to follow, shortly. Previous posts about WSB are gathered here.

Cheaper than therapy

Susan and I love that swing at the farmhouse. There's some magic that happens for us there on the porch... we talk lots, of course, and make jokes and giggle like silly girls, but there's something more and whatever it is, it's cheaper than therapy.

;-)

Love ya Ohio!

Bad bird photo of the week

Anyone else think there ought to be a field guide to warbler butts?

;-)

Side of the road

You wait in the car on the side of the road
Lemme go and stand awhile
I wanna know you're there, but I wanna be alone
If only for a minute or two
I wanna see what it feels like to be without you

I wanna know the touch of my own skin
Against the sun, against the wind
If I stray away too far from you, don't go and try to find me
It doesn't mean I don't love you, it doesn't mean I won't come back and stay beside you

It only means I need a little time
To follow that unbroken line
To a place where the wild things grow
To a place where I used to always go

If only for a minute or two
I wanna see what it feels like to be without you
I wanna know the touch of my own skin
Against the sun, against the wind.

A thousand miles there and back to spend a day with friends, old and new, gathered for the New River Birding and Nature Festival might seem crazy to some...

In fact, probably it was crazy to do, but the singing birds, the people, the chance to wander alone looking for wildflowers in those riotously rich West Virginia mountains ... it's all kinda irresistible to me.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Lyrics from "Side of the Road" by Lucinda Williams.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Photos:

(1) Windflower (Anemone sp.) Among my favorite wildflowers, Anemones are heartbreakingly beautiful and delicate

(2) Showy Orchis (Orchis spectabilis) I dragged Jim McCormac out in the near dark yesterday to show me where to find this beauty

(3) A giddy me photographing blooming May-Apples

(4) May Apple flower (Podophyllum peltatum) The parasol-like foliage of May-Apples is cool enough, but the flowers are especially lovely; more so cause you have to lie with your face in the dirt to photograph them where they hide beneath the leaves

;-)

(5) Fire Pink (Silene virginica) So named not because of their color, obviously, but because of the scissor-like notches on the petals... thanks Susan!

Fire Pink and silly me photos by MevetS.