I had off on Juneteenth, and decided to go for a walk at Kennilworth Aquatic Gardens Kennilworth Aquatic Gardens to see some birdos. It’s a fantastic place to visit, and has a great variety of birds to spot because of marshland that laces through the gardens.

As I started my walk, I saw a little blue fleck cheerfully flitting across the field towards the first pond. I took out my binoculars, expecting a blue jay or blue bird, but the first thing I thought was “That’s a blue cardinal.” But there’s no such thing as a blue cardinal! I mean, maybe there is, the world is vast and full of mystery, but I’ve certainly never heard of it.

I watched it for a while, and had literally no idea what it was. It had brilliant blue plumage with an iridescent sheeen on it’s wings, and a broad nose like a cardinal. I looked it up when I got home and finally identified it:

image courtesy of the audubon society website

It was a blue grosbeak (obviously this is not a surprise to you because of the title of this post), which sounds like the name of someone who went to my synagogue. Beautiful little birds, and somewhat rare this far north. Lookit that cute little face! Here’s hoping you get to spot on yourself sometime soon.