Northern Saw-Whet Owl

Northern Saw-Whet Owl

While the country held (holds) its breath, I sat outside in the crisp November air. I watched the bright moon rise over the trees. I felt the warmth of the glowing embers of a fire. I listened to the yips of coyotes carrying through the clear night. I enjoyed good company and conversation, and I waited for owls.

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Sedge Wren

Sedge Wren

There are eighty-eight species of wren; this cute little sedge wren - a tiny little ball of alertness - is my seventh, along with the Carolina, house, marsh, Bewick’s, rufous-naped, and cactus wrens.

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Least Sandpipers

We found twelve of these least sandpipers yesterday morning at Falls of the Ohio State Park, directly across the River from Louisville in Jeffersonville, Indiana. In the birding world, little sandpipers like this are called “peeps,” for obvious reasons. This group is passing through on their southerly migration. Wading birds like this migrate north through Louisville in late April and early May, stay just long enough for their chicks to fledge, then head south again. As the name suggests, the least sandpiper is the smallest of the sandpipers. This was as close as I had ever been to one, and they are tiny - barely bigger than a sparrow!

Relax with one minute of video of these little guys and gals peacefully preening themselves with the sounds of the rushing water in the background.