Lifer!!

Black phoebe at Lake Wichita spillway

Getting adjusted to retirement is harder than I thought. I have a dozen posts in my head, but haven't managed to get them up. But a lifer can break through the logjam.

I got a text yesterday from a birding friend, Debra, that there was a black phoebe at the Lake Wichita spillway. She texted me later that she took her mother out later, and it was still there. Since it was Thanksgiving day, I wasn't able to get out there.

I decided to go out this morning, in hopes the bird was still there and I could score a lifer (for those who may not be birders, a lifer is the first time you see/identify a new bird). It took a little bit, but it made an appearance. A very pretty bird. It reminds me of a slate-colored junco, only with a longer tail and the typical flycatcher behavior.  I didn't get the greatest picture with my cell phone, but I did get one.

In addition to the black phoebe, there were a couple of rock wrens just below, in the rocks.

Other birds seen at the spillway were Eurasian collared dove, mallard duck, ruddy duck, American coot, double-crested cormorant, northern shoveler, Canada goose, killdeer, ring-billed gull, northern mockingbird, American robin, blue jay, and eastern phoebe.

I decided to go around to Lake Wichita park, near the veterans' memorial and walk the trail west behind the American Legion post 169. A good choice. Birds seen included mallard, northern shoveler, American wigeon, ruddy duck, American coot, pied-billed grebe, double-crested cormorant, white pelican, great blue heron, northern mockingbird, American robin, Bewick's wren, common yellow throat, orange-crowned warbler, ruby-crowned kinglet, American goldfinch, European starling, northern cardinal, blue jay, belted kingfisher, and song sparrow.

Good birding!