Number 493

After living in the Sonoran Desert for a about a year, we quickly discovered that birds migrating north for the spring and summer often stop to rest and feed here.  Our backyard has hosted orioles, grosbeaks, and lazuli buntings.  These hang out for a couple days and then move on.  But while they're here, we relish the opportunity to enjoy these beautiful birds.

A couple days ago, I saw a Nashville warbler feeding in the sweet acacias in front of our home.  I called Keith, who brought binoculars, and we observed the Vermivora for several minutes before it flew off.  The next morning, I saw it again.  It hasn't been back since.  I reported my sighting to ebird.org , a website sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society.   This is a wonderful resource for bird-watchers.  The site offers enormous amounts of bird species and habitat data.

The Nashville warbler was a special life-bird for us.  It prefers open woodlands with patches of brush.  It spends its summer far north in Canada and some of our northern coastal states.  I'm betting our little friend is headed to Washington, Oregon, or British Columbia.  The wood-warbler is striking with a bright yellow underbelly and breast, and greenish-yellow back and wings.  Its head is gray topped by a small rufous patch.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to photograph it, but the memory of our visitor will linger for years to come.  It is number 493 on Keith's and my life-list, our log of bird species spotted since we were married in 1984.  I doubt we'll ever see another in our lifetime.