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Can you find the .

 …Eastern Screech Owl in this picture? Hint:  You can’t.  It’s too small to see in this photo, but this is where he is.  But zoom in a little… …and a little more… …and there he is!  …a fine looking little guy. 
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Hiding in plain sight

 January 1st.  Donna Reservoir.  We’re looking for two special birds.  We found the Long-tailed Duck and took a bunch of pictures.  Once we were done with that, we started looking for the Surf Scoter, but he was nowhere to be found.  We looked at every Scaup.  There were hundreds to sort through.  There were a few Shovelers and Canvasbacks, but mostly Scaup.  No luck. We didn’t really need the Surf Scoter.  Getting the Long-tailed Duck was enough reward for one day’s effort.  We went on our way.  We birded some more at other places.  We went home.  We had dinner.  I wrote the trip report.  I sent out pictures of the Long-tailed Duck. I got a phone call from Jon.  He said “Did you see that duck right behind your Long-tailed Duck?”  I told him not to get excited.  The duck in the background had caught my eye before I sent out the pictures.  I had zoomed in a little and saw that it was a Scaup with its head turned, right in front of a Canvasback.  Jon suggested I look again.  The duck behind the duck behind the Long-tailed Duck in the middle of the picture?  That’s not a Canvasback.  That’s the Surf Scoter we couldn’t find! See the orange bill?  That’s him.  Hiding in plain sight! This birding can be really hard (and occasionally embarrassing). 
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Happy New Year!

 A quiet celebration last night.  A time for reflection.  I thought about birds. 2012 was a good year.  We saw 407 species from Texas to Montana and back.  We added 19 birds to our life-list.  But the New Year means it’s time for a new year-list.  Every bird we see today will be a new one for the list! We went birding.  It was cool and a little rainy (we’re thrilled about getting some rain) so we did a lot of driving and not much walking.  Saw 55 species, including Sandhill Cranes,  Merlin, Vermilion Flycatcher, Buff-bellied Hummingbird (how many people get to see hummingbirds in January?),  good looks at the female Long-tailed Duck,   and a few hundred Green Parakeets. Happy New Year. 
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One of these birds.

 …is not like the others.  There is a white-tailed hawk in the middle.  He didn’t catch any of the birds on the ground.  He just flew through the flock to mess with them. Here he is a little higher up.     
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Oops

 I meant to send out a picture of the guitar. It’s the same one I’ve had all my life (from somewhere in my teenage years at the Carroll Park house anyway).  It’s a little beat up now. There is even a break in the face where a rifle fell on it in 1965. No problem.  It still works just fine. The Broncos played their final game of the regular season.  After starting with 2 wins and 3 losses, they ran the table for the remainder.  They go into the playoffs as the top seed in the AFC.  We even got to watch them play Kansas City on television this week.  Nice. We’re through the Christmas Holidays and ready for the New Year.  The outside decorations are down and put away.  It’s hard to give up the Christmas Trees inside though; they make such a nice light.  Now, if only I can get rid of those Christmas Carol tunes that continue to circle in my head. Today on my walk, I got mosquitoes.  I also got bobwhite quail, a long-billed thrasher, white-tailed hawks, and a white-tailed kite though.  A good trade-off. Go Broncos!