LIFE'S BETTER IN THE MOUNTAINS

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

I caught a glimpse of her on Thursday. You would think I would be delighted to see her. She was a magnificent specimen. While appreciating her beauty, my first thought was, "No, not yet. I'm not ready." Perhaps I was wrong. After all, I didn't get a really good look. Perhaps it was an immature male.

I saw her again on Friday and there was no mistaking her identity. She was perfect in size, her white eyebrow shining in the sun, her pale bill so obvious. She was gorgeous. Our first female Red-breasted Grosbeak had indeed arrived. It shouldn't have been much of a surprise. After all, I spotted the first male on September 24.




She came to one of the feeders for a nice meal. Such a beauty.


So, why was I viewing this bird with such mixed feelings? Because the arrival of the females signals the departure of the males. When I saw her, I knew I would have only a few days to see this bird:


Or this one:

Just as we do every fall, we have so enjoyed seeing the bright (and not so bright) males. We are very fortunate that they seem to love our woods and interrupt their long journey to take a little respite here. In a few days, the males will be gone, but we will have more and more females to join our early arrival. We will love them as well, and lament their decision to travel on.
And with the spring will come the even more brilliant males. We already look forward to seeing them.

13 comments:

KGMom said...

Such gorgeous birds. I don't think I have ever seen a rose-breated grosbeak here in central PA. Don't know if they migrate through here or not--I have just never seen one.
Maybe since I live in the 'burbs--not enough woods around?

Twisted Fencepost said...

Love that first shot. It looks as if she's resting her wings.

The Birdlady said...

You are indeed lucky - I see them in the spring, but if they come back through in the fall, I have missed them....they are really gorgeous, and your pictures are great.

Cheryl said...

Beautiful post.....enjoy the moment.....

Jayne said...

We see them usually in the spring too, though this year, I only saw them two or three times, and then they were gone. They are such beautiful birds. :c)

Tina said...

You always post such detailed and delightful pictures. I would love to see all these grosbeaks. My feeder seems to be a little empty these days as many of our spring and summer visitors are probably flying your way! :-)

Cicero Sings said...

I thought our grosbeaks were all gone but I saw a couple of them hanging around the yard just today ... coming in for a drink.

Kerri Farley said...

WOW! These are superb captures! They are truly beautiful birds!!

Dog_geek said...

Nice pictures of your visitors. They are beautiful birds, but I guess time and grosbeaks wait for no one! Enjoy them while you can!

Mary said...

Beatiful birds. A male graces me once each Spring. My jelly is always waiting.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Carolyn: How I do love the colors of these males, they are very special.

Dave's Bird Watching Blog said...

I've only seen them in the spring, and I never knew the males looked like that in the fall. Very cool pictures!

NCmountainwoman said...

Thanks, everyone, for the comments. Yes, time moves on whether we are ready or not, and we must enjoy the moment.