On the Street Where You Live

Leaving a little early for work, I stopped in the middle of the road twenty feet from my driveway yesterday. There was a curvaceous bird of prey above, uncharacteristically soaring toward rather than away from me. These are usually Turkey Vultures leaving, but this time it was a Mississippi Kite approaching! The little songbirds who usually sing me on my way were quite disturbed by this newcomer.

Of course, I didn't know it was a Mississippi Kite until later. My best looks at birds seem destined to occur when I don't know what I'm looking at. I have seen distant Mississippi Kites before, pointed out by those who know more of shapes and soaring than I. But here was one in my neighborhood, and I had to get to know it all over again. Thankfully, my street doesn't have much traffic, or he would have remained a stranger.