My first good find came on the first day of the year. This Pine Warbler flew in over my shoulder when I was gawking into some one's backyard, waiting for the American Tree Sparrow. 
It looked particularly drab green as it quickly flew into a tree where I could see only parts of it, not the whole bird. My camera just can't shoot through wood, no matter how hard I try. I watched it fly into a low shrub and then, quickly out of there and into another. All I could see was the drab color. I knew it was a warbler.
A neighborhood cat pranced into the yard and straight to THE shrub. I watched hoping to see the unknown warbler fly out. Nothing, no movement at all, except a very excited cat.
I was at a point where I needed to call for help or risk losing this bird altogether. I had just seen Bruce on the Southside, so I gave him a call. Rolling down Water Street, I'm sure his foot got a little heavier when I did the best I could to describe the bird. 
Concluding that this bird must have flown out of the back of this shrub, Bruce headed out to the street. It wasn't long before my phone rang. He had found it feeding at a suet cake. I hurried around the side and was able to get pretty good views of the bird. I'm sure with a little more available time, I could have gotten some better pictures. However, I had to run as family was waiting for me.
In the meantime, I was quite happy with what I saw. Of course, topping the rarity list was this Townsend's Warbler that stayed around for quite a while this morning - longer than me. Time is so short! This is the time of the year when I often reflect on the past and look to the future. As I look back, it seems 2012 absolutely flew by, just like those four short hours this morning. I think it has all to do with my propensity to get lost in the excitement of the moment when I am birding.
Let's hope the birds around QV Lake don't get too spooked with the fireworks tonight.
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