And summer rolls in...

"Pay heed to the birds, and you'll know when summer has arrived."

With daily temperatures in the 90s, it seems that Mother Nature has settled down for a summer-long nap. The last of the migratory birds left my yard months ago, and even the few resident species are staying hidden out of the unforgiving sun.

The most active time of day is early morning and late evening, when the crepuscular animals come out, like the rabbit pictured, and a few birds.

I saw a Downy Woodpecker the other day in a neighbor's oak tree and I see Cardinals daily. They dominate the yard.

I've also been hearing a strange bird that I can't identify. At first I thought it sounded like a Black-throated Green Warbler, but the pattern was different and I wouldn't expect to hear one this time of year.

The best way I could describe it would be Zee ^Zee_{zoo zoo}^Zee. (zee's are higher pitch than zoo's) It has almost the same pitch and "voice" as the BTNW, but the pattern is different than I've heard before. I wonder if it's another bird making imitations (like a wren or mockingbird)?

With my luck, such as it is, I'm sure this bird is something common and obvious. That tends to happen to me a lot. My "newbieness" catches up with me, and I misidentify the easiest of birds. Oh well... what can I say? I have to learn somehow. Even if it's the hard and embarrassing way at times.

Life goes on.

Happy birding!