Sometimes Good Birds Come To See You

This weekend, while out gardening in my back yard, I had the unexpected delight of seeing a male Black-throated Blue Warbler. I initially heard call notes that didn't fit the usual backyard selection, and then saw the bird up in a tree above my circulating bird bath. It was really backlit and all I could make out at first were white underparts and what looked like black upperparts, kind of like a Slate-colored Junco. Then I noticed a white flag in the wing where no junco should have one, and the calls weren't right for a junco, so I knew I had a good warbler. I trotted inside for my camera and re-located the bird in another tree above the fence by honing in on its calls, getting a few shots before it continued into a neighbor's yard and beyond. This was a new photo lifer for me, which I thought was kind of cool since just last week I had just traveled a long way, spending bucks and vacation days to get 4 new photo lifers in California. I guess it goes to show that sometimes you go to see good birds, and sometimes good birds come to see you.