Even the Common Birds Can Change Your Day

Although this picture of a House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) is a little blurry, it was definitely my highlight of the day. 

This Monday was an amazing day for birding here in Clay County, Kansas. We had lots of rain throughout the night on Sunday and most of Monday morning, creating nice cool temperatures for some afternoon birding.

I headed to my favorite birding location along the Republican River. I'm not afraid to tell you where this is because it is public land and anyone can access it. I also believe that if someone wants to experience what you have while birding then what is it hurting to share your best locations?

I wasn't seeing or hearing much at first. I had just passed the first little pullout along the road that runs parallel to the river, and was just about to reach the corner that I like to call sparrow corner, when I heard a House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) whisper-screeching at me.

I stopped to observe the frantic little bird and soon noticed that there were two of them. I watched for a while to see if they were protecting a nest or if there was a young fledgling. Then, from the depths of the brush pile, came a third. I quickly reached around to my bag to get my camera, thinking that these little guys would surely be zipping off soon, but they actually hung around and let me take a few photos of them.

This little experience completely changed my attitude for the rest of the trip, and I ended up observing 25 species in about two miles. Maybe not my best outing, but definitely an example how even a common bird, like a House Wren, can change the outcome of your entire day. I was about to turn around and go home until those three little birds let me pester them with my camera for a while.

Attached below is my eBird checklist from this outing if you would like to check it out.

https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S46794722