Worm-eating warbler

Last June, when I first discovered a local refuge called Babcock Ridge, I quickly learned that it was a temporary haven for a pretty unusual bird known as the Worm-eating Warbler. The group I was hiking with was in the process of walking along the bottom of a rocky slope and I thought, hmmm, perfect habitat for this reclusive and hard-to-spot songbird. As I scanned the rocks and trees, I heard a dry trill that sounded very insect-like, and I shook my head in disbelief. It couldn't be. It just couldn't. But I recorded the sound, and when I put on my headphones for a better listen, there was no doubt that I'd imagined, then actually heard, a Worm-eating. Alas, I never heard it again, and though I spotted many other fascinating things on Babcock Ridge, this one-day bird was not one of them. I heard it again this year, and on this cloudy, cool day, it came out of hiding to sing for me. When it was done giving me the look of a lifetime, it remained on its perch and posed for the camera. I felt blessed, definitely blessed.