Orange-Crowned Warbler

Common Murres on the Water, Kittiwakes on Gull Rock

Orange Crowned Warbler--Photo by Peter Schoenberger

A week ago I had never seen or heard an Orange-crowned Warbler. They pass through the Hudson Valley where I live during their migration, but I have never had a chance to see and admire one. They are not a warbler that would command the most attention. They are yellow, a dusty yellow, with few other defining features. The orange crowned part is pretty subtle. And the song is a bit raggedy, not one of the magnificent warbler songs.
Turns out these little birds are everywhere in Alaska on the Kenai Peninsula. And after being thrilled at seeing them a week ago, I've now started to ignore them. That happened too fast.
Excess always makes us dull to something. Too much good food, too many beautiful sunsets, too many spectacular views of big, snow-covered mountains--even the best things push our attention elsewhere. But I'd like to resist that in praise of the orange crowned warbler and other birds we've seen a lot of here in Alaska (and the ridiculously beautiful views). Like the White-Crowned Sparrow, with its striking helmet and raspy song. Or the hundreds--perhaps thousands--of common Murres and Kittiwakes seen off of Homer while on a boat ride yesterday. A local birder took us out in his tin boat, circling Gull Island, where the Murres bobbed in the water, their beautiful black backs shining in the almost-sun (after days of rain). How could I ever tire of a Common Murre? He then took us into some little coves where we spied a few Marbled Murrelets, and some mountain goats high on a green hillside. The Murrelets and the goats--much less common, but no more special than the Orange-crowned warbler or Common Murres.