A Little Big Day

Day 213: Well, I didn't break my record of 25 species, although if everyone in my crowd of "usuals" had shown up, I could have done. As it was, the three species of sparrow who were here on Friday failed to drop by, as did the Sapsucker and the Northern Flicker, both of whom are here almost every day. My grand total for 2023 was 21. Even odder was the fact that there were no Red-winged Blackbirds to chase away. Any other day, I'd have been shooing them off every fifteen minutes. There were no major surprises in my backyard Big Day unless you cound a few Barn Swallows who were the first I've seen this year. Temps near 90 kept bird activity to a minimum. In fact, there were long periods throughout the day when there were no birds anywhere in sight, and that in itself is worthy of remark. Still, I suppose many people would envy someone who can chalk up 21 species from the comfort of their chair at the window. It took me thirty years to reach this point.