Years ago, my wife and I were cruising the backroads en route to Cape May. We blew by a light colored bird with a really long tail sitting on a wire. Already running late for our beach rendezvous with friends, we neglected to go back for a better look.
Having only been recently introduced to birding. I knew very little about the incredible diversity of species. I started studying field guides a few months later. When I turned to the Scissortail Flycatcher page, I experienced a gut wrenching deja vu. Is this the bird we saw back in May? *
The possible missed tick has haunted me through the years. In fact, this spectacular member of the Tyrannidae family has never been captured in the barrels of my binoculars. Until yesterday!
My early morning e-mail perusal sparked an impromptu trip to the Bombay Hook area of Delaware. The Scissortail Flycatcher was found immediately sitting eye-level on a dead tree less than 20 feet from the car, a beautiful bird despite the bill deformity.
As always, Daddy’s lifer was cause for celebration. My daughter chose a special dinner destination and asked to invite her cousin for the party. Dinner conversation included the bird of honor along with other species of the day including American Avocet, Black-necked Stilt, and Blue Grosbeak.
Throughout dinner, the girls gazed at the birds in the field guide. “They’re really pretty!”
* By the way, I just checked the NJ Audubon archives. Scissortail Flycatcher was recorded in Cape May County that weekend! Oh well, today’s bird put the check on my list.
(originally posted August 17, 2006)
No comments:
Post a Comment