The Big Yard: Notes from a Pajama Birdwatcher

Only the third American Dipper I’ve seen in my life.

July 31, 2024

            July goes out in a flood.

            The last five days of the month pushed the rain gauge above five inches, taking us from a weak monsoon to one above average for the date (7.40 inches).  And August is coming.  Banning Creek gushes with churning foam, overflowing its banks and launching boulders and whole trees.  (Chainsaw work today.)  The well is pumping and the tanks overflow.  Even the mountain tributaries form shining pools like beads on a string.  

            The Big Yard topped out at 65 species with the return of the black-and-white warbler being the only bird out of the ordinary.  The American dipper (above) may look like it belongs here with the creek in its full glory, but I’ve never seen one in the yard.  I took the photo—my first for the species—at the East Fork of the Black River over the weekend where it appeared at a pool in the stream next to our campsite early one morning.  My very first dipper appeared at the same place 30 years ago.

In all, six wondrous days of thunder and forest downpours, fishing with grandchildren (Apache trout!), good camp food and good camp conversation and great birds. In my PJs.

Here are a few highlights.

We heard the sweet song of MacGillivray’s Warblers most mornings.

A Rufous Hummingbird (female) on its way home from summer breeding grounds as far away as Alaska.

Osprey have nested on the East Fork for as long as I can remember. This one was fishing along the river corridor.

A boy and his river. No shoes required.

Sofia insisted on a “crawdad boil.” She caught them and ate them all.

The clan gathering.

Dutch-oven pineapple upside-down cake goes best with homemade, hand-cranked peach ice cream.

Thanks for subscribing!  I’m off to Grand Forks, North Dakota, for a couple of weeks with the son-in-law.  More house plumbing projects and more birds.  Maybe a few new warblers! 

Watch for my next report...