Naturally

With Al Batt

I am a Minnesota boy with a curious mind, who wanders in the pursuit of nature’s wonders.

Naturally
  I wanted to applaud but I was driving. I watched a long, twisting line of blackbirds 
flying past a double rainbow on my way home from a church where I’d done readings at a funeral. The deceased’s wife hugged me and said she and her husband had been arguing over the identification of a woodpecker and a finch—red-headed or red-bellied, house or purple. “We each said, if Al was here, he’d know.” She paused before adding, “Thank you for being here today.”

Red-headed Woodpecker. All photos by Al Batt.

Female Red-bellied Woodpecker.

Male Red-bellied Woodpecker

Male House Finch.

Female House Finch.

Male Purple Finch.

Female House Finch

A young Red-headed Woodpecker.

A Red-bellied Woodpecker flashing a red belly and employing an impressive tongue.

A rare photo of the Abominable Finch, thought to be a myth until this very moment.

Do something wild today. Get out there and look at a bird. Excelsior!