American crow.
A chilly but sunny day. OK, maybe “chilly” isn’t the right adjective: it’s cold. But not too windy—at least not first thing. And did I mention sunny? It felt like a good day to walk the breakwater. I called Kristen to see if she wanted to meet me there.
Beforehand, I heard crows and chickadees. And ate eggs and potatoes. And scanned the hill out back beneath the clear blue sky.
I headed for the breakwater in late morning. A crow was holding court among a small group of herring gulls—odd, but true. In fact, I stood for a good while (trying out my new winter jacket and gloves) watching as the crow called, then swooped and found some morsel of food, then fled two or three gulls, then finally let the morsel fall. One of the gulls laid claim to the prize; the others scavenged for mussels or urchins and dropped these from a height to crack their shells. I observed this behavior, too, a number of times. Truly fascinating.
Then Kristen arrived. The tide was low, the breakwater chiefly free of ice. Our walk out was invigorating. Some eiders, a guillemot, more gulls, but not much else. The trip back, though, was brutal—especially considering a northwesterly wind had picked up. The temperature first thing had been 14 (F); it got perhaps as warm as 20 as we walked the granite stones.
Tonight, the temperature has dipped into the teens again. The stars look faint, obscured by invisible clouds.
Today’s List
1. American crow
2. Black-capped chickadee
3. Herring gull
4. Mallard
5. Long-tailed duck
6. Common eider
7. Black guillemot
8. Great cormorant
Herring Gull, Rockland Breakwater, Rockland, Maine, 10 January 2010.
Tags: American crow, black guillemot, black-capped chickadee, common eider, great cormorant, herring gull, long-tailed duck, mallard
