Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher :: Part II

I have seen the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher! You guys, this is epic. This is not a local fellow. He hails from far east... think Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma for summer breeding, the Mexican Gulf states during migration, and they winter in Central America! But for weeks we have been the local hub-bub of birders in search of this rare and handsome bird, as I shared in a post last week.

The Bird Watchers are much easier to spy than the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, and just as noteworthy, I think. They often don wide brimmed hats, carry either binoculars, or cameras with fantastic lenses. They look up. They look eager. And when they've see the bird, they look triumphant, exuberant. It's lovely to behold.

Geoff and Maria reported a Bird Watcher sighting to me, back at home, where I was sautéing onions and carrots for dinner, and turning dough. I was feeling totally engrossed in the tasks at hand, but the call from Maria gave me that same restless impulse I felt the last time Geoff spied Birders in the neighborhood. I turned off the stove, pulled up my boots, grabbed my camera and hit the road! Lucky, too, because this was the most successful sighting yet.

Michelle, Anita & Dave

I came face to face with fellow FIRST 2102 Team Paradox Robotics parents, Anita and Dave! What?? So cool. (Yes, I can bring bird watching and robotics together in the same post. Seamlessly.) What fantastic good fortune for me, because Anita really has a great handle on the local birding scene. And as we stood together scanning the trees and phone lines, our bird appeared! I feel like I've won a prize, witnessed a miracle. I love how anticipation and time, and sharing the hope of observing something unique with enthusiasts is so exhilarating!

No pictures of the bird. I'm glad I was looking in the right place, at the right time and got to see the bird at all. My camera wouldn't have captured the moment, and I would have missed everything if I'd tried. Maybe Charlie, with his Canon and this 600mm lens, captured the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. You will find plenty of beautiful images of this bird through a Google Images search.

While this is nothing like Big Year, it certainly has been a Marvelous Month for backyard birding!