As if by Magic

Up until and including Saturday there was nothing going on in the world of local birds.

Oh, the word is that there are bald eagles nesting up in the western part of the county and we certainly see them fairly often hunting down on the river.

However, there were simply no signs of migrants, not even a robin left over from last fall.

Then yesterday morning there was a different feel in the air. An exalting brightness, a sneaky bit of true warmth, without the underlying chill that is the norm this time of year.



And there were birds. I went out at dawn with the camera to find grackles patrolling urgently up and down the sky.

A mid-morning hike up through the old horse pasture yielded the eager screams of killdeers, whole flocks of them, and an alarmed robin making a lot of noise in a mulberry tree.

Something sang an unfamiliar song from the old ash in the front field. A closer look revealed a junco....I don't think I have ever heard one sing before, although their chip notes are quite musical.

This morning walking the dog before the sun had even touched the horizon...thank you Daylight Savings time...the killdeers were already busy shrieking back and forth in the heifer field.

It was as if a magic hand had scattered them for my enjoyment, like stars only noisier.