Blue Grosbeak
The rich, warbling song of a Blue Grosbeak was a nice surprise this morning, coming not from a sunny, open perch, but from somewhere deep inside the leaves near the top of a sweet gum. It was another cool, cloudy, windy day. The tree was in a tangled, shrubby area across the road from the old field, and because the bird was well hidden, it was several minutes before I could find it. But it kept singing, and I could see rustling patches in the leaves – and finally it came out, just enough to see. In shadowy spot where it sat, and in the gray light of the day, the Blue Grosbeak looked dark. I couldn’t see its deep, intense blue color, or the chestnut-orange wingbars, but it was clearly a Grosbeak, with a big, silver, conical bill, and as I watched, it flicked its tail from side to side, and sang again. Then it flew away, toward the field and out of sight.