Yellow-rumped Warbler.
I saw a fox today, stepping out for a meal of squirrel.
“Fox”—the name we’ve given the lithe canine,
the four-legged soul that trips slyly around
caring for her kits.
Sometimes when you hear a fox bark or cry at night
it changes your life.
American Kestrel.
We like to give names to things because
we get to pretend we are their overlords, their masters.
Because it implies that we know them and
have put them in their place,
in their genus and their species.
It’s a kind of make-believe.
Because it’s all a mirage.
Because no one owns
the bright male Yellow-rumped Warbler
that sings its trilly little song
as it hunts new flies,
and as I hope it’ll come close enough to me,
a man whose head is surrounded by little flies,
that I might grab a photo.
We call it a “Yellow-rumped Warbler”—and
I even capitalize its name—
for an obvious reason.
But no longer is it just
a small bold bird with a yellow backside.
For we have classified it, and the fox,
like pieces in a board game.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 3 p.m., I hiked all trails.
1. American Goldfinch* (v)
2. Downy Woodpecker** (v)
3. American Crow*
4. Northern Flicker*
5. Black-capped Chickadee** (v)
6. Herring Gull*
7. Yellow-rumped Warbler
8. Purple Finch (v)
9. Yellow-rumped Warbler
10. Eastern Towhee (v)
11. Turkey Vulture*
12. Ruby-crowned Kinglet (v)
13. Northern Cardinal* (v)
14. Tufted Titmouse** (v)
15. White-breasted Nuthatch (v)
16. American Kestrel
17. Savannah Sparrow
18. Mourning Dove* (v)
Elsewhere
19. Blue Jay (v)
20. Eastern Phoebe
22. Dark-eyed Junco (v)
23. Red-bellied Woodpecker (v)
24. Broad-winged Hawk
25. House Sparrow
26. House Finch
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American kestrel, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, broad-winged hawk, dark-eyed junco, downy woodpecker, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, herring gull, house finch, house sparrow, mourning dove, northern cardinal, northern flicker, purple finch, red-bellied woodpecker, ruby-crowned kinglet, savannah sparrow, tufted titmouse, turkey vulture, white-breasted nuthatch, yellow-rumped warbler
