# 36 - Eastern Wood Pewee

Our flight landed in Newark on time this morning, at 5:30 AM.  We picked up our car and got home close to 7 AM ... and went directly to bed.  As predicted, there was very little sleeping done on the plane.  Slept about 5 hours and feeling pretty good now.  It's raining out - a steady moderate rain, so not ideal for being outside.  Which is just as well since I need to catch up on some things here.

But, one can't help peeking out the windows of course.  And as I was watching Monsieur Bluebird chasing the blackbirds and blue jays, I noticed another little raining terror on titmice, finches and other small birds.  A quick look confirmed that it is Yardbird #36 for the year - a small flycatcher called an Eastern Wood Pewee.  They aren't much to look at, but are fun to watch as they catch their prey on the wing.  I suspect this one may have a nest nearby as he is definitely in chase mode with the other birds.  So, with a little luck, I may get to see some Pewee fledglings soon.

Speaking of fledglings, if my calculations are correct, the bluebirds in the garden nest box should fledge tomorrow or Tuesday.  And probably about another week for the two boxes of House Wrens.  

And when I took the SD card out of the critter cam that is set up on the patio, I discovered that the nighttime visitors on the patio while we were away included several fox, several raccoons, several cats, one bear and one skunk.  It's another world out there after dark!

Missing my parents, but so grateful to have had such a wonderful visit with them.  (Love you guys!)

xo
Debbi

PS:  This particular species has some special memories associated with it - sitting by a huge mud puddle on a wretched dirt road in Galveston with my blip-twin, spending well over an hour shooting and watching a pewee hunt.