American Birding Association: Friday

At the Cliff Lodge at Snowbird, a seed feeder lured Cassin's Finches and Pine Siskins as well as the birders who wanted to pull up a chair on the patio and settle in for the show. I admit to being one of those birders, preferring to watch the siskins and finches -- the male finches looked like their heads were dipped in raspberry preserves -- rather than editing articles for the September/October issue.


(Yes, that's snow in the upper right part of the photo. Snow! In late June!)Eventually, the deadline breathing down my neck convinced me to move away from the feeder and to a more secluded spot.

Father Tom Pincelli spotted a shady alcove and provided a chair, too. Did I feel special! With a warm chai beside my chair, I got to work... but even this view distracted me from the articles, as did the American Robins and a little flycatcher that visited the greenery.


After a while, I admitted defeat and succumbed to a little quackery. The tree branches, however, didn't want to remain straight, and the ducks preferred to land on the ground rather than remain on the branches.

A few people looked at me with some concern while I scrounged in the tangled foliage for the errant ducks. Ah well.