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| View to the North from living room windows 1-6-16 |
It is cold, gray, and still on
this Winter’s morn as I open the curtains and gaze across the yard. Through the
trees I see the silver plate that is Middle Bay, calm now after the fierce
winds of the last 3 days which whipped t into whitecaps and roared through the
trees. A shallow blanket of snow still covers the ground, a remnant from last
week’s first winter storm. Through those same trees I can also see the
multi-colored Christmas lights still twinkling on my neighbor’s front yard
Christmas tree. Somehow seeing them there makes me happy. While I do not know
that neighbor, their lights seem friendly and welcoming, a small gift to this
little neighborhood on the back roads of Maine.
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| waiting for the sun 7:32a on 1-6-2016 |
While the bay is seen out the
North windows of this house, a walk to the dining room windows reveals a sliver
of a moon rising over the trees, resting on its back with the Morning star
shining as its companion. I only see patches of sky from this house. We are set
down in a hollow with trees all around and a tree-lined ridge silhouetted
against the sky. From the back deck I can hear the small creek tumbling and
splashing on its way to the bay just beyond the edge of the yard. As the sky
starts to brighten to mouse gray and then blush and blue, the yard birds start
to arrive.
A song sparrow makes a surprising
first appearance today, followed by the little dark-eyed juncos. Soon a mourning
dove settles down onto the platform feeder, and even through the closed windows
I can hear the whistle of its wings. Often when I open the curtains in the morning
I startle a murder of crows. It is not unusual for me to find 30 to 40 crows in
the yard but once the see activity in the house they disperse, and I will only
see a few at a time throughout the rest of the day. I have tried on occasion to
get a picture of their number, but they always fly off when they see me, no
matter how stealthy I try to be! They are just too smart for me!
This morning I am being treated
to a pair of Golden-crowned kinglets flitting about in the trees just outside
my window. They are so tiny and cute with their golden streaks like racing stripes
over their crowns of their heads. I hear their tiny silver whistles as they flit
from branch to branch and from the back they briefly remind me of the Hutton’s
vireos I would see in Tucson when I lived there. But I am here now in the Maine
woods in winter with snow covering the ground and the flat water of the bay
turning pink and blue in ribbons like bolts of silk laid out on display. I am still waiting for the sun to rise over the ridge at 8a. The day has begun in this New Year, filled
with promise, hope, and birds!
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| 8:19 a.m. |
Notes: Yes, I have been out
counting birds. While I am not specifically trying to do a Big January, I am
still keeping track and so far have added at least one new species to my 2016
Year List every day so far, except for January 4th when it was so
freezing cold that the birds and I all stayed home! My goal for this year is to
get a new computer and a new camera or lens and then learn how to use them
both! While Gus’ old 18-200 mm lens is what I am using right now after my 300 mm
broke back in October, I am finding myself frustrated by the lack of
magnification. I just cannot get the birds as well as I could with the 300,
even though it was heavier! So, if you don’t hear from me at times, it is because
I am out birding, or trying to learn new things! It also takes more time to
compose a blog post ever since Live Writer has gone defunct. I am still
adjusting to THAT! Happy New Year everyone! Thanks for reading my blog!
2016 Stats
Total Species:
- Life 483
- Year 39
- Month 39
Yard Birds
- Life 75
- Year 21
- Month 21
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| Sunlight on the edge 8:30 a.m. |
