Of birds, mostly
It's late on a school night so this isn't the complete February Bird Report which I know the Imaginary Reader is anxiously awaiting. But today was an exciting day, birdwise, so I'm sharing a few preliminary numbers. (Perhaps unbeknownst to the IR, I've taken to meticulously recording my daily bird sightings in the classic marble-covered lab book, complete with graph paper. I'm not yet recording actual numbers, but you know that's coming, along with carefully plotted graphs and colorful error analyses.)
It's been an excellent month for new birds, mostly thanks to my two-day jaunt to Berkeley last weekend. Note that I say "mostly." I've also taken to carrying my better binoculars around with me all the time which, this morning, led to discovering about eight red crossbills. Both males and females and an exciting new bird for me. Yes, I was even later to work than usual.
So, new birds for February:
snowy egret
Nuttell's woodpecker
California towhee
black phoebe
red crossbill
and, possibly new:
fox sparrow
hermit thrush
I know that Alexfandra saw a fox sparrow when we were out with her last year but I just can't remember if I claimed to have seen one as well. Similarly, I think the hermit thrush was a first-time positive ID but I could be mistaken. See previous reference to the inevitability of me eventually writing up an error analysis for each month's findings.
In less birdy news, I am nearly finished reading the second draft of Mona in the Desert. It's truly excellent which, I confess, I have come to expect from the works of Mr. Bailey whose The Astrologer is getting excellent reviews on goodreads and amazon. I'm a little amused by the number of "I didn't expect to like this" comments but I'm not complaining. The Imaginary Reader, if local, is encouraged to attend his reading at Third Place Books in Lake Forest on April 11th. The non-local Imaginary Reader is equally encouraged to buy a copy of the book and be amazed by its brilliance.
And in more non-bird news, we went to see Seduced and Abandoned (Sedotta e abbandonata) at the Seattle Art Museum this evening. One begins to feel that Italy, at least during the 1950s and 1960s, was one fucked-up place. In its defense, tonight's film seemed to be aware that it was portraying a vile situation but still. I needed a nice cup of tea and quality time with a purring cat when I got home.
It's been an excellent month for new birds, mostly thanks to my two-day jaunt to Berkeley last weekend. Note that I say "mostly." I've also taken to carrying my better binoculars around with me all the time which, this morning, led to discovering about eight red crossbills. Both males and females and an exciting new bird for me. Yes, I was even later to work than usual.
So, new birds for February:
snowy egret
Nuttell's woodpecker
California towhee
black phoebe
red crossbill
and, possibly new:
fox sparrow
hermit thrush
I know that Alexfandra saw a fox sparrow when we were out with her last year but I just can't remember if I claimed to have seen one as well. Similarly, I think the hermit thrush was a first-time positive ID but I could be mistaken. See previous reference to the inevitability of me eventually writing up an error analysis for each month's findings.
In less birdy news, I am nearly finished reading the second draft of Mona in the Desert. It's truly excellent which, I confess, I have come to expect from the works of Mr. Bailey whose The Astrologer is getting excellent reviews on goodreads and amazon. I'm a little amused by the number of "I didn't expect to like this" comments but I'm not complaining. The Imaginary Reader, if local, is encouraged to attend his reading at Third Place Books in Lake Forest on April 11th. The non-local Imaginary Reader is equally encouraged to buy a copy of the book and be amazed by its brilliance.
And in more non-bird news, we went to see Seduced and Abandoned (Sedotta e abbandonata) at the Seattle Art Museum this evening. One begins to feel that Italy, at least during the 1950s and 1960s, was one fucked-up place. In its defense, tonight's film seemed to be aware that it was portraying a vile situation but still. I needed a nice cup of tea and quality time with a purring cat when I got home.