Nesting instincts

Now that I've finally spotted some prairie warblers, I understand why seeing them is so difficult: they resemble spots of sunlight filtering through the leaves. I've heard their distinctive call for ages but only today saw a pair of them today, with the help of my birding-and-botanizing buddy.

"They're really agitated," she said. "They must have a nest nearby." 

We didn't find the warblers' nest but we found another nest in a dead tree next to our creek, where a pair of northern flickers were feeding nestlings whose tiny heads were occasionally visible inside a hole in the tree. We saw indigo buntings and orioles and a blue-gray gnatcatcher, and we followed the progress of a Louisiana waterthrush along the creekside.

Canoeing yesterday (in the rain), birding today (in the wind/sun/drizzle/humidity)--at this pace I won't know what work looks like!