Finally!

Not a cloud in the sky, warm temperatures... spring has sprung! Even the birds seem to have come out to enjoy this glorious day. This grateful blog is supposed to be about the little things that bring me joy and lately it is looking like birds are filling the bill (no pun intended.)

First photo was, finally, the lovely cloudless sky. Then along my trek I encountered three black skimmers among the laughing gulls and royal terns. It has been quite some time since I have seen one of these rare and unique birds. See my post "New bird on the beach" from January 2009 and "Celebrity Skimmers" from June 2009. This was the third time in my 60+ years that I've encountered this bird so you know it was a thrill, again. Love their long thin black body and that incredibly long beak with the red band accented against their white cheeks and chest.
Continuing on I came across a cormorant, an incredible diving bird that I usually see in the river and rarely in the ocean. I apologize for the not-so-good photo, but this fellow was not close to shore and kept diving out of sight but was another delight on this delightful day.

Headed back and what did I see but an osprey. If you have been following this blog you'll understand my particular connection to ospreys. It has been months and months since I have seen an osprey and seeing this one today was almost spiritual. When I saw the photo and realized that I had captured it flying above the first quarter of the moon I was left breathless.

What a day, wow! What a day... finally!