67/365 Another Dave
At the end of my visit, Dave took me out on Bristol Pond. Paddling from the stern, he let me, a young fresh birder, take in the sights. I saw—really saw—my first cedar waxwing that day. I wanted to move to Vermont.
posted by Indigo Bunting at 7:16 AM
7 Comments:
I felt the same way about Vermont when I saw my first Red-winged Blackbird and heard its marvelous, gurgling conk-a-reeee.
At least we have Northern Mockingbirds waking us up each morning, and often singing us to sleep at night. It's one of the (very) few blessings of living in Florida.
What magical power do birds have that they can cause such shifts, even in non-birders. You see a Cedar Waxwing and want to move your life; for Sewa it was the red-winged blackbird. And I can't imagine ever coming closer to believing in a god than I was the moment I saw an Indigo Bunting.
(That was the second as last time - the first was described here: Melissa.)
Tell me, do cedar waxwings pass berries to one another, down the line? I swear I saw this in a cardinal autumn olive bush many years ago, but it sounds rather fantastic.
And you did move to Vermont, apparently. Where were you at the time?
I was living in Washington, DC (just outside), and I was on a "Do I want to move to Vermont?" trip, in all honesty. Visiting Dave and Alyssa and seeing all that I did, including my first cedar waxwing, got the ball rolling.
I would not at all be surprised if cedar waxwings passed the berries. I have certainly seen various types of bird couples engage in ritual feeding before nesting time. I don't have any trouble envisioning one pass. "Down the line" would be something to see!
And now a confession: I always use bird names for IDs and passwords, so when I was talking with FRA about joining 365—and had asked her about the other time she thought she almost believed in a god and she mentioned her indigo bunting—I couldn't get that species out of my head. No other bird name, even ones I used before, seemed appropriate. Luckily, she gave me her blessing on the usage! They are spectacular birds. Last year, a couple even came to my in-town feeder, a jaw-dropping event.
I was under the impression they named a bird after you.
Who said I was talking about the bird?
Cool post, Indigo Bunting. I wonder how many people use bird IDs as their username.
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