Two days ago, in the early evening, when the heavens opened up and heavy rains fell steady, cold, and dreary, I was outside and ran to seek shelter. As I entered my back porch, I turned around to watch the rain and noticed several small birds fluttering in an amongst a tall and leaning Norway Maple. My first thought was hummingbird because they appeared so small with the naked eye and momentarily would hover, but I knew it was too early for them.
Turns out they were five goldfinches looking for the best spot to wait out the storm. Within a few moments, they settled down for the storm. I watched them for about thirty minutes, and I noticed the following. One brightly colored male took a position very close to the tree trunk. The position was ideal as there was a limb immediately above him that protected him from the rain like an umbrella. He looked quite content yet stared intently at the female who perched about an inch or two from him. She looked miserable and held a steady gaze back at him. I kept scanning the tree and noticed others chose similar spots or spots with less rain falling, but had to shake off water periodically. A few times, one or two or three would take flight and settle somewhere else. There was one moment where the first male lunged out and pecked at the female, who I think tried to get closer to him and get more shelter. After that peck, she stayed put and did not try again. At the same time, a Chipping Sparrow caught my eye in the adjacent crabapple tree. He also found an amazing shelter spot, similar to the first male goldfinch I described (but better): in a nook where two limbs were close together, one on top of the other, creating a nook and a shelter. This sparrow stayed put through out the storm, rhythmically looking left and right, and center. I did not see any other sparrows in that tree until the rain lightened up. When the rain slowed down, there was movement in both trees. Other bird highlights in my yard I've seen/heard in past few days (*photographed): --at or below the feeder or in my garden: Golden-winged Warbler* (yes!), Chipping Sparrows*, White-crowned Sparrows*, doves, grackles, juncoes,... --passersby heard/nearby: kingfisher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, bluebird --heard in higher tree tops of mature trees: titmouse, cardinal, chickadees, ... --missing for months: Pileated, Downy, and Hairy woodpeckers I am so grateful for this birding community. My life is so much more rich because of it. Thank you. -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
