Ok, so I am struggling to get back into good running condition this Spring. I had a good run Monday night, though, so I figured tonight should be pretty good, too. I get 2/3 of the way into it and I am totally struggling to make myself keep going. Then, what should appear overhead - no more that 25 feet up? A Turkey Vulture swooping over me! I could see every distinctive marking on it. The whitish color under the back half of the wings and tail, the red head, the legs. I see them circling high over farm fields around here all the time. But this one seemed to be mocking me! He was just waiting to see if I was going to end up dinner!
To make matters worse, as I continued around the corner, the neighbor's black cat decided to cross the road in front of me. I am not extremely superstitious, but I did get enough superstition from my great grandmother on my Dad's side to seriously consider calling off the rest of the run at that point!
On a brighter note, I had a White-Crowned Sparrow at my feeder tonight. They are just gorgeous. If you see one, the first thing you will notice is that its head looks like it has zebra stripes on it. They are truly striking to look at. I didn't get a photo - in fact I knocked my camera on the floor grabbing for my binoculars (yikes!). But if you click on the link above, it will take you to the What Bird description of it. They aren't year-round residents here. They pass through on the way to their Canadian breeding territory, but I see them at the feeders at least once a year.
Oh, and I was able to finish my run with no great calamity befalling me.....for now!
1 comment:
Turkey vultures sure are creepy, but I suppose they have an important job.
Just wanted to let you know that this weekend, a hummingbird came to our back deck location and hovered where the feeder was last summer, as if to say, "HEY! Where's the treat?!"
We cleaned and filled the feeder and have seen him back several times since. Not sure if you do hummingbird feeders, but if you do, it's not too early.
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