I don't really keep a very good life list. It really just exists in the back of my head- more categorized as "mild interactions with birds." However, when in L.A. I'm almost always finding new birds I've never heard of before. And here is the California Gnatcatcher- a bird no one else has ever heard of before either, as it just got classified. It looks just like a bushtit, but it doesn't behave or sound like one. And actually its head is a little smaller, too. What it most resembles, because of its call and its solitary nature, is a hummingbird that isn't flying. There is one, which I believe to be female, hanging out in Dan's crazy front yard most mornings. It's so small you'd think it was a falling leaf. It hangs out mostly in an olive tree, and it's so grey that you can't see it except when it moves. Truly magic, hidey-hole creature.
I'm sure in all cities there are magic small things I'm not seeing. Maybe one is always looking for the things one already has in mind. It was such a relief to get to California, where there are more than sparrows, pigeons and starlings. Where, in fact, there are more birds than I can name. So much happier here on the best coast, in just the everyday ways.
