In the middle of my lunch hour, I left the office in a huff over comments from my co-workers. With a half hour to kill and no errands to run, I just drove around, slowing down to scan for birds when there was no one behind me. Although I didn't get any lifers (and my goal of 100 by year 1 is starting to look more like a pipe dream than ever), I did have several interesting sightings. The first was an eastern kingbird. It was only my second sighting of the species and the first in my hometown. After a few more miles and plenty of American robins and northern cardinals, I caught a glimpse of a local legend: an albino red tail hawk. Speeding up to 60 in a 40 zone, I was able to keep up with him until he lit on a telephone pole, and then I could see the one red feather in his tail. Finally, as I circled back to the office, I saw a handful of eastern bluebirds - not rare but much prized here in Missouri, the favorite bird of many. And I have to say that despite the angry "bluebird glare" I know probably showed on their faces, from a distance the bright color against the imminently rainy sky did seem archetypically cheerful. I have returned to work and burrowed into my cavity with a bad-mood baffle on the door to keep the snakes away.