I picked up a new lifer this morning following a 4.8-mile walk up to the Helena Ridge trail. The image is of an Ash-throated Flycatcher, which really ought to be a state or two south of us – they spend most of their time in the Southwest.
It turns out this is only the 18th sighting of an Ash-throated Flycatcher in Montana. Ever. So, that makes this a Review Species. As such, I had the duty and honor of filling out a Rare Bird Report Form and submitted it to be included on the Official State List.
That is pretty cool!
Even before I learned it was super rare, I felt very fortunate to see it, and even better about being able to get a couple of pictures. Its head was constantly in motion so it could track flying insects.
Anyway, this is bird number 312 for my life list and 212 for the year. The fall migration does not have as many individuals as the spring version, and it is a lot quieter, but fall is when I’ve picked up several vagrants during my time as a more dedicated birder: a Baird’s Sandpiper in August 2020, a Pomarine Jaeger in October 2022, and a Red-throated Loon in November 2022.
In a journal entry dated May 1864, Ralph Waldo Emerson is said to have written, “I look forward to the day when I can simply sit, read what I please, and no longer be bound by the daily administrative tasks of maintaining a livelihood.”
I hear ya, Ralph, but I still need my livelihood, and I’d almost certainly find myself bound by the administrative tasks of following and musing about the phenological aspects of nature anyway. So, I’ll keep doing my best to find a little work/life balance where I can.
There’s a Northern Parula haunting the shoreline of the Helena Regulating Reservoir, but it doesn’t seem to want to be seen by me. Two strikes so far. Perhaps tomorrow morning will be third time’s a charm!
The air is clean right now – get outside if you can!
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