Let’s see.  What happened yesterday?

Well.  Great migration day.  Outside our houses tons of kinglets and migrating raptors and warblers were lurking.  At one point, I found a particularly pish-tastic flock.  Normally, in my experience, birds are less pish-responsive in the fall.  Unlike the breeding season, they have no territories to defend, no young : there jusn’t isn’t as much reason for birds to get all riled up at some crazy human making odd noises at them.

However, one group of feathered friends was very reactive.  I was walking, heard some chips, tried a pish and instantly was surrounded by an army of chattering chickadees, kinglets, vireos, and warblers.  One hatching year female black-throated green was extremely interested.  She perched about three inches from my face and looked inquisitively at me for some time.  She was so close I could see her molt limit with the naked eye!  Of course my camera was all snuggled up safe and warm in my bedroom, but it was still a sight to see..

What else happened? Hmm.

Oh.  Yeah.  Owls.  Six of them. In my  hands.  Wooo!!!

I have banded Saw-whets before at one of my jobs a few years back, but we only caught about a half dozen. I knew they were adorable but I’d forgotten exactly how adorable.  They are heart-breakingly, a truck-driver-would-coo-like-a-girl, mind bogglingly, out of this world cute.  They sit on our hands, batting their feathered eyelashes looking like a mix between the watery eyed Puss-N-Boots from Shrek and a newborn kitten, turning a room full of biologists into a cooing mass of emotional jello.

I mean seriously.  Should anything be allowed to be this cute?  I would not mind being re-incarnated as a rodent if I were permitted to be eaten by a Saw-whet.  I’m totally cool with that.

Horrible picture, but still.  Look at that face!!!  I  am officially in love.

Hopefully this is the start of many more to come.

Happy Birding!