Birds I especially miss after having relocated.

[Harker]

My wife and I moved east from Colorado a few years ago, and we've settled in upstate NY after a couple years in western PA.

We're tremendously pleased here, and getting to know the birds that visit our rural property.

I hope I never take the presence of any species for granted again, as I get wistful, a little teary eyed even, missing some that I used to see every day... especially magpies, mountain chickadees, and pygmy nuthatches (two individuals in particular who became dear friends.)

If I thought harder, I'd miss more. Steller's jays, Western meadowlarks, dammit.

Love the ones you're with.

[5X]

1. I have been thinking of the snowy owl in New York

and some birders I know that would love to fly there and see it.
I hope they aren't being so selfish. Birding is a great and wonderful thing that I do and love but
now is not the time.

[Harker]

2. Better times ahead.

I've never traveled to see a bird, but whenever I do travel I prepare myself with field guides, etc., and enjoy them.

I'm quite content to sip my tea, or a good porter, and see who shows up outside my window on a snowy day.

[5X]

3. Same here, or just walk around my yard or neighborhood.

[Mme. Defarge]

4. Having spent 6 of my formative years

in a small community just east of Aurora, CO, I have missed the sound of meadowlarks after moving to Portland, OR. But now I could not imagine living where hummingbirds are not around all year.

[Harker]

5. It'll take time to adjust.

There are cardinals here, and common redpolls are wintering with us. There's a long list of birds here I'd not seen before.

Yep. Meadowlarks. I can hear one clearly now in my mind's ear.

[WhiteTara]

6. East of the Rockies we have

red birds, Cardinals and intensely blue buntings. But the Steller's are gorgeous. I also miss the quail with their little topknots. I haven't seen any quail here at all.

[Harker]

7. Cardinals are a delight to see.

The subtler females every bit as much so as a bright red male.

There were a nesting pair here through the summer and fall. The female disappeared suddenly. Her mate lingered around for maybe ten days before he moved off.

One stopped by for five minutes on a journey through a few weeks ago.

The coming spring will be my first in NY, and much joy will be coming with it.

[handmade34]

8. "Love the ones you're with"

so true and with climate change, even if we don't move, the bird population often does... I worked "on the road" for 12 years before I retired and loved seeing the different birds (and insects and other wild life) around the Country.

But even here where I live the bird population has changed and with so many bears where I am I cannot put out bird feed to entice them. We used to have many song birds and grosbeaks... not so much anymore. I content myself with the robins and hummingbirds in the summer and the wild turkeys in the winter

the occasional woodpecker (especially pileated), owl, hawk, dove and the call of the loons at the lake across the way delight me...

[Harker]

9. Sounds like you're really in the spirit!

You brought up a very potent point regarding climate change... the range maps in my somewhat dated field guides are, in some instances, greatly different from current reality.

Those darn bears. I thought I was smarter than the average one when I put a little hummingbird feeder maybe 50 ft. up a pine tree, reachable only, so I thought, with an absurdly long stick from our front deck. I found it 40 yds down the mountain, mangled, and the contents drained.

I'm still looking forward to my first encounter with a loon.