Kingbird, Henne

I was leading a small natural history walk this evening at the Henne preserve, and while much of the trek was devoted to determining that one of the pair of Osprey on the nest has stubbornly refused to become a fledgling, I did, on another part of the walk, discover that at least one group of birds has abandoned any reluctance to take to the air. As we were approaching the point of the peninsula where I often spot Painted Turtles, I heard a lot of commotion in the trees and when I zeroed in on the commotioners, I saw a family of Kingbirds, those wonderfully pugnacious and energetic flycatchers with the diagnostic white band at the bottom of their tails. Several of the family members fled when we got too close, but one of the birds stood its ground—maybe mom doing guard duty. I doubt she could sense that I meant her and the kids no harm, but I did use her steadfastness for my own photo-op purposes. I hope she won't sue. I don't have a model release.