Spring Migration, 2009 of the Julian

Were it not for the ubiquity of the Nashville warbler, native sparrows the cat drags in, and this, yellow-headed blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus, an average ornithologist or ornithologer might actually forget that the maximum annual maximum of the New World bird migration is handy. That’s right. Dozens, maybe hundreds of migratory birds are winging their way north, flying blind in the night sky, dodging windmills and microwave towers. Splat!

Many shall venture along but few shall survive the dangerous trip across the perilous ROT airways. The fact is, many of these poor little birds are hoping only to get to Canada where they might happily fornicate and sing their hearts out. Instead, they are fixing to get hit by an airplane. Splat! Mercy!

Yes. The rape of nature is far along in these parts. That’s why the appearance of this yellow-headed blackbird at the Burger Center yesterday came as such a shock. Jeez Louise! What’s he doing here? Good Goddess!

Mockingbirds hate migrating songbirds. That is just a fact of life. So pretty soon a mockingbird espied this migrant. Wearying of repeated attacks, the blackbird eventually abandoned his peaceful foraging, flapping off disconsolately in a westerly direction. Good luck! And stay clear of Bee Caves!