It Happened! :)
These last few days I have been going to Ragged with a very specific dream in mind … I wanted to see and photograph both an Indigo Bunting and a Common Yellowthroat on a gorgeous plant that is new to me. I know that seems like quite the dream… first of all to even see the Indigo Bunting, and second of all, for it to land on a specific plant…. But hey, that’s what dreams are right?? :). Why not dream big!
Well, the third morning I finally spotted an Indigo bunting after waiting a very long time in one spot, and I mean a very long time. Merlin had been picking up the sound of an Indigo Bunting in that exact spot the previous two mornings - I never saw it during those two mornings. This spot has very high grasses and clearly he or she was very close to the bottoms of those grasses as I never even got a glimpse. On this particular morning, my third morning, all of a sudden a heard the very faint “chip” calls from an Indigo Bunting! Thankfully there was absolutely no wind so I thought I would have a chance of spotting some movement in the grasses. I finally saw some grasses moving! No visible sign of a bird yet but the “chip”, “chip” sound was getting closer and closer to me. I kept crouching down to try and see through the tangle of grasses as the sun was coming up behind me, when all of a sudden I saw the profile of an Indigo Bunting!! You can see the challenge of finding one of these guys when they don’t want to be seen!
When I was trying to get in a better position, he flew up and out so quickly that I never had the chance for another shot! I thought…. ok, I have to be even more patient… he might come back again and if he does, I’ll have another chance. So I committed to staying in that spot for the rest of the morning…
Very soon after the Indigo bunting flew away I heard the rattle of a Belted Kingfisher and looked up and to my left to spot him immediately!
He took off within seconds right into the rising sun…
This is the plant… it is the only one I could find amidst all kinds of grasses and milkweed plants. According to my phone (and always please correct me if I am wrong) it is Garden Angelica (Wild Celery). I just think this plant is gorgeous and the way the rising sun hits it is just stunning. On previous mornings I had seen sparrows occasionally flying in and out of it and hoped you-know-who would give it a try!
As soon as I took the above shot a Song sparrow made a quick stop as if to prove my point! :)
Taking the above shot made me realize that I should also try a different angle. I hated giving up my original position because I loved how I could see straight towards the plant, but I had a very narrow path between the grasses to have a chance for a shot if I stayed where I was... So I walked further away and to my right and tried to get to 90 degrees from my original position so that I could capture it from that angle. I had just set up at my new spot when a gorgeous flash of blue came flying by…………. the Indigo Bunting!!! Are you kidding me??? And he landed on the plant and looked over as if looking at me!!!!!!
WOW!!!!! My adrenaline was sure pumping now… I was so damn excited! I still can’t believe it all happened… and that it happened the way that it did! :). As soon as I took that second shot he flew up and around past where I had been standing originally, so I decided to head back over there to see, if by chance, I could locate him again!
As soon as I was about where I had been I saw a flash of yellow to my left…. a stunning Yellow Warbler!
And still a little further to the left, I saw movement in some leaves and saw this recently-fledged Yellow Warbler! I have so wanted to spot a recently-fledged anything! :)
As you can see, the morning light was just stunning so I decided to set up back where I had started the morning… and concentrate on that plant!
As soon as I set up, the Common Yellowthroat showed up!!! Seriously… unbelievable!!!
Nature is beyond a dream….
And then………. a flash of blue to my left!!!!!
Can you believe this??? I still can’t!! He stopped for a millisecond in order for me to take this shot and then flew away and out of my view. Wow……..
Behind me I could hear the rattle of the Belted Kingfisher again. I spun around towards the pond to snap this as quickly as my mind could tell my finger to depress the shutter button! This will be a shot that haunts me (many do) because I could have done a much better job of capturing this stunning moment… Normally I wouldn’t share a shot like this but I think you can get an idea of just how beautiful this moment was with that Belted Kingfish coming from right to left across the pond…. just magical!
I figured it was time to pack it up and head home and re-live it all again in my telling of it all with Lorraine. Just as I was taking my first few steps I heard the gorgeous song of a Common Yellowthroat belting out his gorgeous song as loud as could be! Where was he? How could I not see him instantly? I thought to myself, I just have to find him - he is just singing his heart out and he needs to know how special I think that is…
And I eventually found him… He alternated between singing and primping… he was ready to take on the day!
“A bird does not sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”
- Maya Angelou
I had been thinking to myself the last few outings that I hadn’t seen the Spotted Sandpiper around the pond like I had the previous two years. Well, you know how this morning had been going for me… all of a sudden I see the very distinct flight of a Spotted Sandpiper and snapped this shot after he landed! :)
For the last shot of this morning…. I was walking back to the car when the Belted kingfisher flew right above and ahead of me and landed for a moment before continuing on….
Yet another morning filled with gratitude… and bigger and better than my dreams…