What a great post, Lisa! This is what birding is all about. The three
B's....Birding, Birding, and Birding!
I wish I could write about my birding experiences in Seattle, WA., where
the combination of luck, chance, timing and my ignorance make for funny
episodes....but I know very few people here, and I don't think anyone would
be interested, in the Midwest!
Meanwhile, a shout out to the MoBirds community, and the many patient
guides and fellow Birders, who all truly set me on the path of birding in
the US. A community which I still feel a part of. I still miss the Blue
Jays and the Mockingbirds, leave alone the others!
> A classic example of what I call "The three Ps of Successful Birding"
> (rather in the field or the yard):
> Preparation, Patience, Persistence.
>
> Congrats, Lisa. "Good things come to those who wait"... and wait...and
> wait. Or is that wail and wail and...
>
> Edge Wade
> Columbia, MO
> <1edgewade...>
>
> On Fri, Apr 24, 2026 at 6:02 PM Lisa Saffell <
> <0000065c370fac8c-dmarc-request...> wrote:
>
>> The Great Rose-breasted Grosbeak Conspiracy
>>
>>
>> By 10:00 AM I was convinced the entire states of Illinois and Missouri
>> were gaslighting me.
>>
>>
>> It was a rainy April morning, and apparently Illinois and Missouri had
>> been designated a five-star resort for migrating Rose-breasted Grosbeaks,
>> except for my backyard.
>>
>>
>> I opened my email to:
>>
>> “AOR & RBGR showed at my feeders this morning to add welcome splashes of
>> color and sound on a dreary looking day.”
>>
>>
>> I opened Facebook to:
>>
>> “Rose-breasted Grosbeaks have arrived in St. Clair County”
>>
>> “Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are here!”
>>
>> “Didn’t get a picture, but I saw a Rose-breasted Grosbeak on my feeder
>> this morning! 😍”
>>
>>
>> I looked out my window at my feeders. They were busy with the usual
>> suspects. Bickering European Starlings, a sopping wet Blue Jay, cranky
>> Cardinals, and vocal woodpeckers. Where were my Rose-breasted Grosbeaks?
>>
>>
>> I checked my feeders. I checked them again. I stood at my window,
>> clutching a mug of coffee, feeling like the unpopular kid in school who
>> didn’t get invited to the "Rosy Party.”
>>
>>
>> I left the house to go birding at Tower Grove Park. Everyone was
>> talking about the Grosbeaks showing up at their feeders. Some had even
>> spotted a few high up in the trees at Gaddy Garden. I still couldn’t find
>> one. After an afternoon of birding I headed home and checked my feeders
>> again. No Grosbeaks.
>>
>>
>> By 3:00 PM, I was plotting. Do I need better sunflower seeds? Should I
>> wear a red shirt? Maybe I should put out a sign that says "Grosbeaks
>> Welcome: Free Buffet.”
>>
>>
>> By 4:00 PM, I had officially entered the “bitter” phase of birding. I
>> started composing a cynical Facebook post. Was I to become a sparrow
>> feeding Hermit? Then my phone notified me that Haiku heard a new bird…..a
>> Rose-breasted Grosbeak. I checked the feeders in the back and searched
>> all around Hope Springs. No Grosbeak. I walked to the front and looked
>> out the front door. With trembling hands I raised my binoculars and looked
>> at the feeders in the front tree, and there on the middle feeder, sitting
>> with an air of absolute superiority were two male Rose-breasted Grosbeaks!
>>
>>
>> I did a quiet little happy dance that probably looked like a mix of the
>> chicken dance and a frantic aerobics move from the 80s. I grabbed my camera
>> and took a photo thinking to myself, now I finally get to post my own rosy
>> update.
>>
>>
>> #BirdingProblems #RosyDay”
>>
>>
>> Lisa Saffell, St. Louis
>>
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>> ABA Birding Code of Ethics <http://www.aba.org/about/ethics.html> >>
>> MBS Spring Meeting: 125th Anniversary - May 1-3, 2026, Drury Plaza Hotel,
>> Chesterfield, MO
>>
> ------------------------------
> *The Missouri Birding Society's Wild Bird Discussion Forum*
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> Website <http://mobirds.org> / Email the list owners
> <mobirds-l-request...>
>
> ABA Birding Code of Ethics <http://www.aba.org/about/ethics.html> >
> MBS Spring Meeting: 125th Anniversary - May 1-3, 2026, Drury Plaza Hotel,
> Chesterfield, MO
>
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