Tracking the Sapsucker

I keep a journal of the birds I see in my backyard deep in the city of Chicago. Even though the backyards and alley are webbed by power and phone lines, and even though the el tracks are barely 50 feet from my house, I have seen more than 100 bird species in the last 20 years. On April 17, I spotted the proverbial yellow-bellied sapsucker in my cherry tree. Looking back, I see the following days when the sapsucker first appeared in the spring:

2006: 4/29
2003: 4/4
2002: 4/11
2001: 4/11
1995: 4/14
1994: 4/10
1993: 4/17
1992: 4/19

There is a pattern to the motion of the birds across the continent each year. It is far bigger than me and my back yard. Yet, it leads certain birds to my cherry tree and my pond at the same time every year. It is something I can neither understand nor control. I find it comforting and reassuring. It is a little epiphany, a little bit of magic each year. All you have to do is open to it and watch.