Birds are good for you.

    The last week and a half I was challenged in a way I had never been before. And without disclosing too much information, it weighed heavy on my energy, my mental capacity, and my heart. The challenge came to a close yesterday and I had taken today off, with plans to need to care for the kiddo while her daycare is closed for Yom Kippur. Maybe it was the universe coming to my aid, my mom offered to take Kestrel and that left this open day where I could do whatever I wanted and just be easy on myself.

    Of course the one thing that centers me, brings me happiness, and just cuts out all the distraction of life is birding. I hate birding on a cloudy day, like, I really hate it. But I took the opportunity to go outside and just see a bird. I didn't set an expectation or have any hopes, any bird would do. And damn, this was a great mindset to have because I am so happy I went, saw birds, and somehow made the choice to come home, just as the sky opened up upon my arrival home.

    I got a nice break today and now I'm ready for what tomorrow brings, and its all thanks to birds, including the ones you'll see in this post!

A field sparrow pops out to stare me down at Floyd Bennett Field.
Field sparrows are incredibly cute.

The ground was literally crawling with savannah sparrows. They wove in and out of tufts of grass, just eating as much seed as they can.

My favorite is when they stretch and do little hops to grab seeds that are juuuuust out of reach.

Also, I hope you like sparrows. Because it's sparrow season.

Here is a song sparrow. Skulking around in the shrubs and overgrowth surrounding the area the savannah sparrow was foraging.

I was so excited to have clear views of a swamp sparrow.
And then it did this funny yawn and I was even more excited!

🥱

And then they stepped forward even more. A lovely little sparrow, swamp sparrows have some really lovely browns to them, like a dark honey.

Swamp sparrows are like most sparrows, they try to hide and those colors are just superb for it.

Earlier in my visit I saw one merlin perched on a bare twig.
And as I left, I noted there were now TWO merlin, sitting 15 feet away from one another.
These birds also like sparrows... but to consume.

I will never fault them for their bird eating ways. I love raptors.
But what a lucky capture to really appreciate the beauty of this little huntress.
All these little birds were a wonderful way to clear my head, get some fresh air, and get home before the rain started up again. I felt fortunate to have this time today.