(My favorite bird: the northern parula)

Earlier this year, I celebrated my 50^th birthday. As a gift to myself, I took the day off from work and went birding, with the goal of seeing 50 bird species in a day—one for each year of my life.

Success! I managed to see 65 species around Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, including this northern parula. I took this photo at Hone Quarry, where the early migrants were just singing up a storm.

I first saw a northern parula shortly after my 40^th birthday, ten years ago. Since then birding has become one of my favorite hobbies (along with photography and coffee) and the parula has become one of my two favorite birds (along with the piping plover, of course).

Please enjoy this beautiful wonder!