Sunshine is at such a premium these days, I can only remember one or two sunny mornings. One of them was this past Sunday, but I was inside, singing with the choir. It was a wonderful experience, however, made that much more special by our guest soloist, tenor Sean Harris. The energy he brought to our collective performance was palpable. The light of that occasion has kept me going through ensuing dark mornings all week.
These photos are all from the sunniest day of the month so far, January 9, in Riverside. The first bird I saw was 64H. Below his photo is the certificate I received from the USGS the same day I reported seeing him. Since he is at least 8 years old and I nearly always see him alone, I have imagined a rather sad story. I suspect it is likely he lost his mate and is waiting for someone like her to accompany him.
Some Mallards were enjoying a nap in the sunshine.
There may not have been a lot of birds, but those I could photograph were so much easier to focus on with light. What a concept.
When trying to photograph the Common Goldeneyes, sunshine was the problem.
After what seemed like several weeks, the American Robins were back.
Even this Northern Cardinal didn’t seem to mind posing for me. I guess he figured the pictures would come out pretty good with all that sunshine.
I saw 64H again later on the grass. Then a few more Canada Geese came in for a landing.
That was it for sunshine. Except for a rainy day or two, I have gone out in the mornings and have seen birds every time, in spite of the endless clouds. There’s no sunshine in the foreseeable future, but I will try to be back sooner with a more recent report.
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How nice to have a certificate. The ring is very conspicuous so perhaps its mate didn’t like the look. 🙂
I reported another tagged Canada Goose a few years back – I don’t think it was the same one but it had a mate and I used to see it at the Portage.
When I first started seeing these tags they looked very uncomfortable but I guess the bird gets used to it. I noticed he also has a ring on one foot which probably has the more detailed number on it. One has to wonder what they do with this information.
It is a joy to see the sun. I have been out a few times. Saw Juan last week. He said he saw you earlier on the trail. In Minnesota now. Alas, still no sun up here either. However, there is a lot of snow. Your photos look so clear and bright with the sun and blue sky in the back.
Minnesota sounds like fun. We haven’t gotten a lot of snow here – yet. Barely a dusting but more is predicted Sunday. I think you saw Jose. I also ran into George a few days ago. But not too many visitors lately with the crummy weather,
There’s a tiny bit of sun peeking through this morning but I don’t think it will last, with more ‘wintery mix’ on the way for the afternoon and night. I’ll run out and try and catch a few rays though, the endless gloom of the last few days gets to me.
I know! It’s like I have to drag myself out of bed in the morning. But it almost never fails, if I go out I see something interesting – even if I can’t always see it so well. It’s reassuring to know life goes on, I guess. 🙂