Hope is the Thing with Feathers (According to Emily Dickinson and I)

It’s finally spring, and one of my most anticipated aspects of the season is the return of the migratory birds. The goldfinches are already here and the grackles are showing off their blue luminescence - after all it’s mating time! For the next month the night sky’s highway will be crowded with birds, some just passing by, others returning to their nesting ground.

Sibley Birds East came in last week. I already have 4 field guides for eastern birds, so did I really need another? (YES.) David Sibley is one of North America’s foremost naturalists and illustrators, and this newest edition holds 4600 paintings digitally mastered from his original art. Not only is each page beautiful and full of information, but every entry features a coloured map showing migration and year round ranges. Such information is indispensable when you are working on your personal birding checklist list and trying to make sure that it really is an American Avocet that you have just seen.

Birding is so exhilarating - especially with a good pair of binoculars! Your mind and your body are one as you spend the whole day searching and finding - ultimately being rewarded with an aesthetic that is hard to beat. I, for one, am heading out to Point Pelee soon - perhaps I’ll see you there!