When I listen, I hear the birds
Eclipse glasses are handed out at the local rest stop
I see what I am looking for, and these days, that is birds. I hear them, because I’m listening.
What was background noise in the mornings on our lawn and during late afternoon walks in local woods is becoming distinct — the calls of cardinals and blue jays, tufted titmice and red-winged blackbirds.
With guidance from the Merlin bird app on my phone, I’m able to identify a handful of local birds. It’s a thrill when I learn I’m listening to one I haven’t previously identified.
Some are bold about announcing themselves. Red-winged blackbirds make a racket. Listen to this, recorded on Wednesday while Bella, Ringo and I were walking past a stand of pines in Crandall Park:
We’ve also seen — but mostly heard — a raucous flock of red-winged blackbirds in the Hovey Pond Park swamp, where they cling to the cattails.
Other birds are stealthy, like the great blue heron we’ve seen three or four times at Crandall Park pond. It seems to particularly like the swampy area bisected by the road, and we’ve spotted it on both sides, standing in the water or floating quietly.
Its slate gray blends in with water and ice.
On Wednesday, we saw it on the other side of the road.
I took a few photos, then switched to video, and just as I did, it lifted off.
A few minutes later, we spotted it by one of the footbridges:
It looks young to me, and I think of it as a male, without knowing. I wonder if it is looking for a mate and whether it will find one in Crandall Park.
Bella took a long walk earlier in the week, ending up halfway down Big Boom Road, where I picked her up. Moments later, I stopped the car to gawk at a pileated woodpecker, standing on a tree right at window level, its bright red pompadour just a few feet from our car.
But, after I clambered out of the car, it kept circling the trunk as I tried to get a photo, then flew across the yard it was visiting to another tree. I managed to get a few shots of it there, but they don’t capture how spectacular it was.
As I learn a little bit about birds, a world is opening up — one which, until recently, I hardly glimpsed or heard. It feels as if the birds have noticed I’m paying attention now, and they cry out to show me something new.
Cardinals, especially, seem to enjoy getting to the top of a tree or some other high spot before letting loose. With their bright red plumage, they’re easy to find.
Even the little birds have loud calls, and you can hear different species answering each other and joining the chorus.
In Crandall Park on Wednesday, as Bella and I and Ringo walked on the road that circles the playground and the pavilion, the red-winged blackbirds suddenly fell silent. No bird sang for several seconds as we looked around, wondering why.
Then one started, and another, and in a moment, the air was full again of their cries and chirps and buzzing trills. We walked on through the songs.
Eclipse
If you’re thinking about watching the eclipse but don’t have glasses yet, you can get two pairs each by going to the I Love NY rest stop between exits 17 and 18, off the northbound side of the Northway. Each day, 250 pairs are handed out, two per person, starting at 9 a.m.
We went at about 8:40 Friday morning and had no trouble getting our pairs, but they go fast. My guess is, if you show up at 9:30, you’ll be too late.
One note: signs saying the glasses are “sold out” (they’re actually free) are posted on the doors, but, at least on Friday, the glasses were available at 9.
Birdsong certainly makes you stop and be more of a listener.. a good thing I think in this busy world. Merlin is wonderful.
The older I get the more I enjoy the birds. We have a large feeder with black sunflower seed which attracts the most colorful lovely birds-stunningly colorful male/female cardinals, bright yellow finches, mourning doves, black and white chickadees, bright Blue Jays and of course many squirrels and chipmunks. Yesterday morning there were three deer in the yard at sunrise. They all make me so happy and appreciative of our beautiful area.