It’s one of those cool, misty mornings in late July. I am awakened at 5:30 by a sweet song in the nearby prairie—the paired notes of an Indigo Bunting.
Typical of this small, fast-moving denizen of the treetops, our gnatcatcher led us to the spot where he and his mate were busy constructing their nest, a compact cup positioned on the top of a limb and resembling a tree knot.
I’m slow-birding, watching for activity in my favorite bush—a large, spreading red-osier dogwood—when a bright yellow bird lands right in the middle. He moves along the branches, searching for food, and stops every few seconds to sing, “sweet sweet I’m so sweet.”
As I reach the pond, I approach slowly, attempting to remain concealed behind some trees. And then I see it—the year’s first Solitary Sandpiper, feeding in the shallows.
The telltale sign of a Tree Swallow nest is often feathers. In some cases, there are so many feathers, you can’t even see the underlying nest structure of dry grass or pine needles.