Tonight I am grateful for something really simple. I think some of the best things are simple. I am grateful for having received a really good camera for Christmas a couple of years ago because with it I have captured some of the best pictures I’ve ever taken. The focus (no pun intended) of my most recent was to get a really good photo of the little bird with the big voice that I wrote about last week (Day 635). I took a photo of it with my smart phone but knew that if I really wanted to get a good picture of it so that I could later identify it I needed to take it with my good camera. So I’ve been carrying it around with me for the past week–back and forth to work–with the hopes that I’d get another shot at it, so to speak.
This morning as I was walking in from the parking lot toward my office building I thought I heard it singing, but couldn’t see where it was. Besides, I didn’t have time to stop and I was carrying my backpack and a travel mug of coffee, all of which I’d have to set down to get out my camera and take a picture. So I walked on to my office sending mental messages to the bird inviting it back over to my office. It didn’t show up. But, as I was walking back to the parking lot this evening as I prepared to head home, I heard the familiar, clear, and distinct song of the northern cardinal followed almost immediately afterward by the now becoming familiar song of the as of this moment still unidentified little bird. I walked slowly, gazing into the small stand of trees. The cardinal kept singing but for a moment little bird had stopped answering. Then the call came again and I spied it.
Unlike the cardinal which the male of the species is colored brilliant red and is hard to miss, little bird is a fairly unremarkable soft brown color and sitting in the trees is quite easy to miss. But I found it, and setting my backpack down on the grass dug out my camera and zoomed in on my feathered friend. Not only did I get a few fabulous photos of it, I also recorded it singing. Of course as soon as I started videotaping it, it stopped singing, though I got one clear call from it. Meanwhile, the cardinal was singing its heart out in the back ground. Once I’ve figured out how to upload the video (I am temporarily challenged by size restrictions and the file is too large in its current form) I will do so. In the meantime I have included the photo below. You’ll have to imagine the beautiful birdsong emanating from the sweet little bird its mouth opened and belting out the chorus.
Little Bird Singing
Meanwhile there’s the joy of discovery as I zero in on the identity of little bird. Now that I have a clear picture of its markings it’s just a matter of time. My sister, who has a colleague who’s a bird specialist, has already found out what it is (and seemed mildly smug as she said, “So, do you want me to tell you what it is?”) I told her no, though it would be a lot easier to know and go look it up rather than scour through pictures and listen to various birdsongs to see if I can discover it for myself. Still, I love a mystery and so will slog through allaboutbirds.org until I find it, or until I give up and call Ruth.
I love much about the natural world and am a self-described “bird nerd.” I have gotten much more so as I’ve gotten older. I like that about myself! I take delight in simple things, am grateful that they give me such pleasure. And I’m grateful to have the technology to help me “capture” the beauty that I see around me. It’s a wonderful thing.
