Thursday, September 18, 2014

Birds in the Mist at Scarborough Marsh

1. misty morn-kab 

When you go to the marsh on a misty morn,

1a. trail-kab 

and follow the trail into the rain,

you don’t know what you’ll find

and you know you won’t be the same,

2. shorebirds-kab 

Then the shorebirds fly as you pass by,

thick as fleas against the mud,

as the marsh land grasses winnow and sigh,

3. least sandpiper-kab Least Sandpiper

When shorebirds land under stormy skies,

4. witch of the marsh-kab

and the Witch over the marshland flies

casting her spell over all who dare

enter her land and breath her air

 

5. leaping leasts-kab Least Sandpipers

then birds careen in a wild dance,

in this wild place of sweet romance,

and sandpipers pipe their flute-like songs

6. semipalmated sandpiper-kab Semipalmated sandpiper

Over the mudflats, over the shores,

over the places they’ll leave before long,

piping their sandpiper migration song,

7. hints of autumn-kab 

When Autumn’s touch starts to show,

8. marshland-kab 

that’s your cue; it’s time to go,

8. snowy ghost-kab

 before the ghost birds start to fly,

9. little blue-kab 

before you start to wonder why,

10. little blue and great blue-kab 

Little Blue and Great Egret too

11. ghosts in teh grass-kab 

hiding in wait, looking for you,

 

12. blue and blue-kab 

sneaking around in the tall grass,

 

13. tide goes out-kab 

while the tide rolls out as you walk past,

 

14. dark mysteries-kab

Concealing dark mysteries hidden in mud,

 

15. mudflats-kab 

gray morning waits for the returning flood,

bringing the water that feeds all with wings,

 

16. fisher king-kab under the watchful eye of the Fisher King.

Notes: I had a little fun with this post today. This is the second place that Cynthia and I stopped to bird on August 21st when she came to visit me. We wanted to get near the shore and see all the shorebirds that were migrating through. My biggest surprise was finding the Little Blue Herons in the marsh! I expect them in Florida, I did not know we had them here in Maine! They were new to my Maine Life List and I was glad to add them, though at first they threw me off! We saw at least five of them here, with two full blue adults, two white juveniles, and one in transitional plumage. Juvenile Little Blues hatch white and then molt to their adult blue plumage. You can tell the juveniles are Little Blues and not one of the other white herons/egrets because they have a pale bluish bill tipped in dark bluish gray! We saw flocks of shorebirds here, as well as a few sparrows and other birds, but the shorebirds, egrets, and herons were the highlights, as well as the Belted Kingfisher we saw as we were leaving. We were really here in the afternoon, but I took a little poetic license and set the poem in the morning. Onward to Pine Point Beach next!

Links:

17. in the marsh-kab

8 comments:

  1. Nice poetry! Very artistic......especially am loving all your shorebirds....and SANDPIPERS! Exciting!

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    1. Thank You, Chris! and yes, the sandpipers just keep coming!

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  2. This is an absolutely delightful post. Your poetry flows as the tidal waters do.

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  3. Congrats on finding the Little Blue Herons, they are one of my favorites.. I love the Least Sandpipers and the Kingfisher. Another great outing, Kathie!

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    Replies
    1. Eileen, it was such a thrill to find them, though at first I could not believe my eyes!

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  4. The poem, how fun; just like our time in the marsh that day. Great pictures.

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    1. Thanks, Cindy! I had fun writing it. When I looked at the pictures I wanted to capture the feeling of that day.

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Welcome to my nest! I hope you will enjoy spending time here with me and the birds. Thank you for your comments. I will try to get back to you as soon as I get back from counting more birds.