A Perfect Day

Sunday was one of those days. Warm sun, cool in the shade, steady breezes. I hadn't been to my Hasty Brook since the middle of last October. To say I was happy to be there would be a huge understatement. The creek was running higher and faster than we've ever seen it.
Look who welcomed me! This shot is without zoom. A pair of them hung in the sky over me like kites on the wind, they dipped down below the tree tops, over our campsite. They seemed curious. And intelligent.
The creek is well above the banks. Recent heavy rains and the long, snowy winter brought the water level up.
This was the first winter that we left the camper up there. I had been nervous about vandalism but everything appeared to have survived safe and sound. Here's my husband Art soaking up some sun, fresh air and birdsong.
The only warblers around were Yellow-rumped Warblers and here's the way they looked to me 99.99% of the time! I did actually get a few pretty decent photos of these YRW's but I'll post them another day.
This tired looking Junco rested nearby all afternoon. The winds were from the northwest and quite steady so I wonder if this little fellow was waiting for better travelling weather. As soon as we arrived I filled all of the feeders and scattered lots of seed around on the ground.

We were welcomed by noisy screeching moving through the woods all around us. Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers were making such a ruckus! there were two pairs of them zooming around the trees, the truck and they even zipped around us as we stood. I don't know if they were male-female pairs or if they were males chasing each other. The vocalizations and drumming and flight behaviors seemed very territorial. There was one particular tall aspen that seemed to be a favorite for drumming. The drumming on that tree sounded different even to my ears.
The first photo is of a female and since all of my pix are taken over my head you can see the yellow bellies! The red throat on this male is striking.
And then they're off again!

Hermit Thrushes are one of my favorite birds at Hasty Brook. The first summer we were up there, I heard their songs long before I figured out what they were. In fact they were so hard for me to see, I id'd them by searching through forest bird songs until I found the match.
I find them easier to see in spring before things leaf out. I found these two by sitting quietly, and listening for them scratching along on the forest floor. These are my first pictures and I'm excited to have them. The most beautiful bird songs that I've ever heard belong to the Hermit Thrush and Veery. They are both nest at Hasty Brook and sing in the late afternoons and even into the evenings. It is the finest music. A lovey Purple Finch was the first to visit the filled feeders. Could he be any prettier sitting in the afternoon sun, in a budding maple?

It really was a perfect day.