Thanks for this Lisa. It made me smile. I just did 3 days at Roaring River
and didn’t get one. Listening this morning to my feeders/yard. 🤞🏻
Lottie Bushmann
Columbia
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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