A Catbird in California

About fifteen years ago, Jeannie moved to Northern California from Maryland to be near her son and daughter-in-law. She had spent many years around the birds of the Chesapeake and settled in Bodega Bay, where she could familiarize herself with other shorebirds, different sparrows, and rarities.

Bodega Bay is a migrant trap, which means that when passerines (songbirds) are flying north or south to their nesting or wintering grounds, they often run out of land to fly over or time or both and just hunker down where they drop, usually for 24 hours, sometimes for a little longer. Sometimes, blown off course, they’re very rare for California. Bodega Bay is not as famous for rare birds as Point Reyes just to the south, but it’s still an incredible place to live if you’re a birder.

Twelve years ago, Jeannie saw a catbird in Owl Canyon. The hoity-toity birding establishment didn’t believe her (catbirds are found far to the east and north of the Sierra Nevada), even though she grew up around catbirds and knew their sweet songs, calls, whistles, and beady black eyes with the rusty under-tail coverts offsetting the steel gray feathers. She didn’t care. She knew she had seen a catbird.

Jeannie died yesterday at four. My mother had been sitting with her for three hours and when she got home, five minutes later, she got the phone call. She also got a report of a catbird in Owl Canyon.

Sing sweetly, Jeannie, wherever you are; we’ll miss your gentle humor and quiet strength.