Birthday morning coming down

Today is my 43rd birthday, and I woke up at about 7:15a.m. I don’t think it’s fair that my body decided to wake up this early, but I can’t get back to sleep because I know I could be outside birding. It’s not like I have to go to work, after all; I figure I should take advantage of this sleep deprivation.

The sunrise after a stormy day yesterday:

It takes my breath away to look at such things so early in the morning.

I didn’t see any warblers or anything, but I did see some “regular” birds:
Northern cardinal
American goldfinch
Downy woodpecker (first one I’ve seen visit the suet since I put it back up)
Bluejay (the squawky beautiful things!)
Gray catbird
Common yellowthroat
Carolina wren
Chipping sparrow
Eastern starling

I saw this bird at the top of a tree and thought, “what the heck is that?” That’s how long it’s been since I’ve seen a starling in his jazzy fall outfit:


You see how light he is, though? I thought I had me some exotic bird for a minute there!

So I set off on a nice walk after doodling around the backyard and watching the birds I mentioned above (though I STILL haven’t actually seen that yellowthroat, dangit!). The traffic on our road was incredibly busy, and I was cursing it and wondering what was going on when I remembered: “Oh yes. Penn State home game.” The Central PA universe revolves around Beaver Stadium.

Note to self: Don’t go into State College today, no matter what!

I finally turned off the main road onto Shook Hollow, a nice road for walking:

I didn’t really see any birds other than bluejays, catbirds, and starlings here, but the walk was nice all the same. I did get some looks from the locals, though:

And what, may I ask, are you doing here?

Here’s my usual turn-around point:

It’s so cold this morning, with a brisk wind blowing through the trees and providing a nice background sound for the constant cries of bluejays and mews of catbirds. I’m in shorts and a sweatshirt, so I’m not too cold except when the wind gusts.

Some sights from my walk:

Is this a doodie? I mean a scat? From what?

Who lives here?

And here?

Where are these guys going?

The wind is cold, but I can feel the warmth of the sun as it peeks through the trees.

I made my way back home, and took a few more close looks at the nature around me:

Pure white beauty

The tomatoes, still giving me everything they've got

The coming mums

I pick some dandies for Niblet (he loves the flowers even more than the leaves), and he’s so happy to see me. I couldn’t get any good shots of him that weren’t blurry; the battery’s tired after so many photos. And so we come to . . .

The end