Well spotted

On a hot morning a few weeks ago, I spent an hour walking along my road with Kelley Nunn, who knows more about birds than anyone I've ever met. She has an amazing eye and could spot a hawk or a kestrel long before I could, just by noting a slight shadow on a cloud. She could identify each call in a jumble of songs ("like picking out the oboe in a symphony," she said) and shared mnemonics for many of the calls (for the Red-Eyed Vireo, it would be "Where am I? Here I am. In the tree!"; the Phoebe says its own name).
I've lived on my road for a good many years and until she showed me, I didn't realize that there are actually two ponds along one stretch, one of which you can see only from the very top of a steep bank.
She kept track of what we saw and heard and sent in the completed checklist to eBird: 45 species in one hour! She wasn't surprised; actually she said my road is something of a mecca for birdwatchers.
Kelley leads bird walks at the Bucktoe Creek Preserve on Sunday and Monday mornings (free and open to the public). She is amazing, and I hope to take another walk with her soon.