sayornis (for Thomas Say, American entomologist who accompanied Stephen Lond on his 19th-century expedition to the Rocky Mountains) phoebe (a daughter of Gaea)
Saturday, April 19, 1980 — 10:00 am
Barrington, Illinois — Crabtree Nature Center
I were walking down the prairie trail, just as it opens up into the field and before it gets to the bridge. The Phoebe was sitting in the top of a small tree near the marsh, continually wagging its tail.
Later that summer, and for each of the next five summers or so, a Phoebe nested on a ledge above the doorway of the blind on Bulrush Pond. It would fly out and land in a nearby tree every time someone approached. I once spent about half an hour sitting inside the blind waiting to see if it would come in while I was there. It finally flew in the door, but just as quickly went out the window I didn’t want the eggs to get cold, so I left. More than once, I saw young birds in the nest. I don’t know if it ever successfully fledged its chicks under those conditions.