Well that looks like a fantastic book! And also peregrines are pretty awesome! Speedy flyboys at 200 mph when they dive!

Scientists have explained it as a "barcode system" in their brain. This bird weighs the same as 5 pennies, and he has this much mental capacity.

Also mine are so accustomed to us, they happily fly into our hands for snacks.

Alright, done rambling for now. Just had to nerd out for a few.

My favorite fact of all time, for my favorite bird of all time.

Black-capped chickadees grow their brain size every fall, by 30%. They've been shown to remember hundreds of places where they've stored seeds for winter, thanks to this noggin upgrade.

Male cardinals are such attentive fathers, they've been seen caring for and feeding baby birds of other species.

I personally have watched my favorite cardinal, Cardi A, teach his offspring how to navigate our busy bird feeder.

Blue jays can impersonate the calls of hawks, in order to scare away other birds from feeders. They're not all jerks though, they're known to warn the whole forest when they see hunters or actual predators nearby.

Also they have a call that sounds like a rusty gate swing, and it's weird as fuck.

Right? it's a little quiet but I prefer this chill little place over the dumpster fire of the other guy.

Also, the sooner you tell me your bucket list bird, the sooner I get to nerd-dump all my favorite facts about said bird. 😁

Right? And yet I utterly failed on icing sunflowers yesterday. It was still a learning experience, but all I managed to write out in icing was "Failure McFailureson." hahaha.

Luckily my selective memory forgets my failures as soon as I accomplish something decent.

Sorry to ramble, but this is one of those rare times when I look back at things I've done and feel genuine surprise/shock at things I've created.

So rare to feel pride and accomplishment when our minds often naturally focus on our past failures, so I'll soak this in while I can.

I've made cupcakes that look like burgers, "broken glass shards" made of sugar, sugar egg dioramas (which is SUCH a weird niche family tradition), and this is my "winter of the croquembouche."

Hell, I once made a 3-D princess crown out of sugar, just to prove I could. To top a cake for a loved one

Literally my cake decorating icing tips are 50 years old WIlton tips that have been passed down through a generation or two.

As much as I dislike following my maternal line's traditions, cake decorating is endlessly fascinating to me.

And yes, I absolutely film rare birds like I'm spotting a celebrity at the grocery store. "Oh my gosh there he is!! Just eating breakfast!! At my porch! Holy crap!!"

Actually, I've treated birds far more like famous celebrities than I have actual celebrities I've met. 🤔

Honorable Mention: Pretty much every member of the grosbeak family. The rose-breasted looks like he's wearing a tuxedo to a dinner party. Not to be confused with the equally dapper Evening Grosbeak.

The entire group looks like they put on their best outfits to go out to dinner, and I'm here for it

Personally, I want to see the black-billed magpie one day. And an oriole. And the Eurasian Jay. And a European Roller. And Cedar Waxwings.

Pretty much anything with striking markings gets me stoked. Especially if they're rarer/endangered.

Bird watching is real-life PokemonGo. And I love it.

giant *smooshy hug*!!

Dude I'm SO glad you found me! I've been panicking thinking I'd lose you in the ether of the internet. Hope your day's awesome so far! ❤️