Birds and Baseball

Merlin

October means a few things to me.  It means that fall migration for sparrows is in full swing, and that my birding adventures are temporarily taking a back seat to playoff baseball.  Sorry sparrows.  You're tough to ID anyways.  Maybe after a few Kenn Kaufman workshops I'll be willing to make a serious attempt at IDing this eclectic group of birds.

Sparrows and playoff baseball, specifically Tiger's playoff baseball, can be equally painful to watch.  The frustration I feel when I see a tiny brown bird that I can't identify is on par with the feeling I get when Miguel Cabrera strikes out with runners on first and third with one out in a one run game.  All we needed was a long fly ball Miggy.  Why couldn't you, the best hitter in the game, lay off pitches that were several inches off the plate?  You looked lost up there big man.

The Tigers are down two games to one now.  They have the next two games at home, but after blowing a 4 run lead in Game 2 and failing to score a single run in Game 3, things are not looking good.

I will continue to watch the games despite the agony it causes, but I think birding is going to be my top priority for the rest of the week.  I say this because it's true.  Elissa and I will be leaving Thursday evening for Whitefish Point.  The following are our target birds: Surf Scoter, Black Scoter, Red-necked Grebe, Northern Goshawk, Black-backed Woodpecker, Common Raven, Pine Grosbeak, and Evening Grosebeak.

Merlin, the smaller version of a Peregrine Falcon, was also on that list when I made it about a month ago, but that species was unexpectedly checked off at Oak Openings earlier this month.

My hope for this trip is to see some cool birds and to have a wonderful weekend with my lovely wife.  We have our ups and downs just like any couple, but I find myself loving her more and more each day.  I can't believe that it will be 5 years of wedded bliss come January.  We have two beautiful daughters, a lovable idiot of a dog, and a home filled with love.  Remind me of that if the Tigers continue to disappoint.  I'll need a pick me up.  Happy birding everybody!

Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Merlin (website). Retrieved from http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/merlin/id