One of the interesting things about Magee Marsh in the first days of May is that the cast of characters changes daily. New warblers and other migrants arrive daily. On Thursday there were no American Redstarts. On Friday there were. Saturday’s arrivals included Cerulean Warbler and Bay-breasted, Summer Tanager, and Whippoorwill (or at least Whippoorwill was seen for the first time on Saturday…it is hard to tell if Whippoorwills are around unless you hear them call).

This Bay-breasted Warbler was not a cooperative as it might look from the burst of shots above. It was certainly close. At one point it landed no more than 2 feet from my face for a second. But it was fast! It did not perch anywhere for more than that few seconds, and it stayed well hidden in the emerging leaves most of the time. I was there 20 minutes before I managed this sequence.

Canon SX50HS in my usual long zoom configuration. Program with iContrast and Auto Shadow Control. -1/3EV exposure compensation. 1200mm equivalent field of view.

Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.

And for the Sunday Thought. Awe and wonder are central to my experience of God…and I firmly believe that anyone still capable of awe and wonder is still open to God, whether or not they know it. Out on the boardwalk at Magee Marsh the level of awe and wonder is so high (among the birders gathered there) that you can almost taste it, and I am pretty sure you can smell it if your nose sensitive enough. 🙂 It fills the air like sunshine, whether the sun is shining or not. If you have never been around birders when bright spring warblers are flitting around heads and through binocular fields…where there are literally birds where ever you look, then it may stretch the imagination when I describe the level of excitement. I heard one young lady say, when her mother pointed out yet another warbler in the brush beside the boardwalk: “I know mom, but I just can’t look at them all. I don’t know which way to turn!”

The two other emotions that run high on the boardwalk, and are also hallmarks of my experience of God, are delight and anticipation (hope). These birders are enjoying the warblers they see. You only have to listen to the delighted cries (no shouting, of course, these are birders among birds) that sound through the marshy forest of Magee to know just how happy these people are. And anticipation fills every birder that joins a crowd on the boardwalk where something rare has been seen.

The emotion that I can only hope is also there, since it is not so readily observed, is thanksgiving. Even I, who know better, can get so caught up in the awe and the wonder and the delight and the anticipation and forget to let myself feel the thanksgiving. That is what this morning is about. This moment I am letting myself feel the full rich flow of my thanksgiving for the privilege of being here…for the God who shares his creation with his children in bright warblers at  Magee each spring.