American kestrel.
Sun rose cloud-veiled.
OK, so I’ve been reading the journals of John Quincy Adams, diarist extraordinaire, and that’s how he might’ve begun an entry for today. Then he’d go on to discuss the weather, the position of the planets, news on plantings, people he met with, blah-blah-blah. A man after my own heart.
American kestrel.
The sun did, in fact, rise behind cloud-cover—and all was damp and drizzly. I heard the resident crow and cardinal and song sparrow and house finch and phoebe. Oddly, by the time dog and I headed for Beech Hill at midday, conditions were the opposite of what they’d been yesterday and the day before: the dampness and drizzle withdrew temporarily, and the sun broke through the clouds, and the air temperature rose at least five degrees (F). Nearing the parking lot, I spotted a kestrel in the same South Street snag I’d seen the bird (or another like him) the past two days. Still, there didn’t seem to be a lot happening up the hill itself.
Oh, I could hear chickadees and a flicker and a titmouse and robins and goldfinches. But I could see no birds at all. Then maybe a quarter of the way up I spotted the kestrel again—or another kestrel—perched in a branch of one of the birches lining the trail. The kestrel didn’t let us get too close; just as I’d get ready to snap a photo, it’d flap away and soar up into a more distant snag. So I grabbed a few long shots. Nearing the top, I noticed another hawk, a harrier, tilting below against the trees to the south. On the way back down, I caught site of two kestrels—a nesting pair?—hovering above the grassy southwest side. Farther along I heard, then saw, a northern raven.
Hovering kestrel.
Later today, out driving, I spotted herring gulls, ring-billed gulls, rock pigeons, starlings, and a grackle. I decided on a lark (!) to swing down to Weskeag Marsh, see what was cooking. Not a lot, turned out: pair of mallards, red-winged blackbird, solitary great blue heron flapping away to the east.
The sun came out soon thereafter, and I thought I’d take a bike ride—but then I noticed my rear tire was flat. As I changed the tire, the sky opened suddenly and a torrential rain fell. About an hour later, as a rainbow arched over the bay, the world had already begun to dry. However, I no longer had a wish to ride.
Today’s List
American crow
Northern cardinal
Song sparrow
Eastern phoebe
House finch
Mourning dove
Herring gull
Black-capped chickadee
American goldfinch
Tufted titmouse
Northern flicker
American kestrel
Northern harrier
Common raven
Ring-billed gull
Rock pigeon
European starling
Common grackle
Mallard
Great blue heron
Beech Nut.
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American kestrel, black-capped chickadee, common grackle, common raven, eastern phoebe, European starling, great blue heron, herring gull, house finch, mallard, mourning dove, northern cardinal, northern flicker, northern harrier, ring-billed gull, rock pigeon, song sparrow, tufted titmouse
