Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for February 25, 2015

Years of experience bring knowledge.

Maybe birds know who their friends are…

I’m no twitcher, but I’m sure of two things, firstly those birds are not Bachman’s Warblers, second the colorist has invented a completely new species.Mike

Hope they remembered to bring seed; they have fans!

I love this couple.

According to Peterson’s Field Guide, Bachman’s Warbler is listed as “probably extinct”, and the last verified sighting of was in 1966. Hence the excitement at the prospect of seeing one 15 years later.

On the subject of “birds of happiness”, Whooping crane 8-14 is the “Whooping crane of happiness”. Google: “8-14 “Tiny Dancer.” This bird is always dancing.” Use the Google hit: Lessons Learned from a Crane. Watch the video at the end of the article to see 8-14 dance.

I think they’re the endangered Florida scrub jay, found in the Atlantic coastal dunes areas. While they are now few in number, they are friendly – put a few peanuts in your hat and they flock in like this!

Knowing where to set up and covering yourself in bird seed.

Boy, he IS good at knowing where to set up!

And Bluebirds really are a brilliant shade of blue, I’ve taken pix of them here in southern IN and some folks will ask me if I photoshopped the color somehow. Amazing that people don’t get out anymore.

Some people, like me, get out but lack the good vision or quick reflexes to see the birds. For me, going bird watching is practicing deception: “Oh, there it is! Beautiful!” is more appropriate than a repetition of “Where is it? In that tree on the right?” One can love birds sight unseen and truly rejoice in occasionally sighting one.