A Towhee Sort of Morn

  It is no secret that my favorite time to hike is just before dawn.  Things are different then.  It is quiet except for the sounds of critters waking from a night's sleep.  It is peaceful as people have not yet begun to mar the day with their insensitivity, squabbles and unreasonable noise.  It a time uninterrupted by the hustle and bustle of the day.  It is my time.  In fact, it is about the only time that I can truly claim as my own because, before dawn, everyone else is still asleep and the old dog has gone back to his warm bed.  I guess I am the only crazy one on the Bayou.

  This morning as I eased my way down to the pier, a slight north wind was chilling me to the bone.  This would be a short hike since I forgot to don the heavy jacket.  Still, I needed the serenity of the early morn so I proceeded.  Just as I neared the pier, something rustled in the palmetto clump.  It sounded far to small to be a coon or rabbit so I thought perhaps the rice rats were scurrying to find their warm nests after a night out scavenging.  Nope.  Several small birds hopped out of the clump and sort skipped to the pier.  Ahhh, the towhees!

  The sight of these little birds never fails to thrill me.  They are perhaps the busiest birds to ever call the Bayou home.  These tiny birds are seldom seen since they prefer to scratch about in thickets.  This pair nested in the palmetto clump this past summer.  I knew they were there but with their excellent nest building and habit of hiding that nest, I was never able to see the little ones.  Since they are still hanging about the same bunch of palmettos, perhaps they plan on nesting there again.  Towhee Watch will go into full force this spring!  I love these little birds!