bittern-ess

The readings have been quite well-received so far. Audiences this past weekend varied from four to twenty, and included, among others, my parents (in from Maryland), sister (in from Asheville, NC), and Ernie and CJ (in from Athens, OH and Washington DC, respectively). I walked on air out of the gallery on Saturday--thanks to these loving presences and other Chicago friends present at the readings, everything felt just perfect.

And on Saturday morning, the 7th, R's dad (in from Omaha) drove out to Logan Square to pick me up. We went to Montrose Point--aka the Magic Hedge--where we birded happily for several hours. Neither of us was particularly sharp that morning--he's losing his eyesight, i had only the excuse of a lack of coffee and a rusted brain--but we managed to catch sight of a few gems:
2 COMMON YELLOWTHROATS
1 BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER
2 EUROPEAN GOLDFINCHES
1 SWAINSON'S THRUSH
1 BROWN THRASHER
25 WHITE CROWNED SPARROWS
2 BALTIMORE ORIOLES
1 AMERICAN BITTERN
1 OVENBIRD
The bittern had attracted lots of attention by the time we saw it. a few bold birders were sneaking up on it with cameras. this is a largish marsh bird, well camouflaged that day amid the tall brown grass, with yellow eyes and a long, curved sharp bill that points to the sky for hours at a time, a meditative posture that no one can explain, but which makes the bird appear vertical, as if it were some sort of conduit.