My friend Bill introduced me to a small almost black bird with a distinctive white chest flitting among the trees that surround the pool on our hill.  Today when I stopped on my bike ride to MOPA (Museum of Photographic Arts) to see if I could get a couple of good pictures of a Brazilian Coral Tree at the northwestern edge of Balbo Park, one of these little birds flew in to see what I was doing.  We watched each other for a few minutes and then I had to go.

  When I got home I called Bill to ask the exact name.  He said it was a flycatcher.  Google is amazing.  With a couple of keystrokes I learned that the one I saw today is a Black Phoebe, indeed a flycatcher described by Wikipedia as having “a sooty black body and crisp white belly.”  I think I can say with confidence that this handsome little creature is completely unaware of troubles in Eastern Europe or even in Eastern San Diego County.  When I thought it was looking at me today, I was probably wrong… unless, of course, it thought I might attract flies.