In the Realm of the Winter Wren

In the dark forest

in the thick trees

in the deep shadows

a small creature moves

and all you observe

is a tiny brown blur

 until it hopes up on a stump

its tiny tail cocked

and gives you an inquisitive eye

while you pause in your tracks

in the soft forest duff

you know you are in a magical place

with ferns growing thick

around uprooted trees

the home of this "cave dweller"

and you should be pleased

it is a blessing from Nature herself

to enter the Realm of this little brown elf!

These images were captured at the 

Curtis Farm Preserve 

in Harpswell, Maine on September 20, 2015

A Chickadee Inspects a Tree

 A cheerful little chickadee

in spring a nesting hole did see,

It stuck its tiny head inside

to check how deep and how wide

But looking was not good enough

Would this hole hold all their stuff?

 And so the birdy ventured in,

was there room for kith and kin?

A deeper look and then a ponder,

would this do, or should it wander?

Like all of us in this state,

I am sure it must consult its mate!

 

I photographed this little chickadee at the Mere Point Boat Launch on April 29, 2015. I have since seen several chickadees in my yard and at the boat launch, so I would say that this nesting season was successful!

To Reach for the Sky

What joy it is to reach for the sky

Arms open wide

to receive all there is,

or to celebrate

and cheer

With elation.

These arms of mine

So taken for granted

Are essential things

I use them every day—in so many ways;

to hug, to reach, to grasp,

to perform essential tasks!

How wondrously and marvelously made we are,

Birthed into this world, perfectly formed,

We crawl and walk and run through life

Arms outstretched and open wide

As if we were always born to fly.

By Kathie Adams Brown (March 15, 2015)

Sandhill Cranes at Whitewater Draw in Arizona, 2-22-2008

Turkey Vulture, Yuma, AZ 11-22-2012

Osprey, Falmouth, ME 8-7-2012

Canada Goose Andover, MA 10-13-2010

Northern Harrier, Bosque del Apache, NM 11-5-2012

Mountain Bluebird, Three Points, AZ 10-31-2009

• Kathie’s Poet Tree 

Notes from my Nest: It’s a Gray Day in Maine

 I photographed these Ring-billed Gulls just about a year ago at Wharton point in Maine shortly after we moved here. My Birding is Fun blogpost is up with photos of some of the

Spring Birds in Maine

So far the only “spring birds” I have seen are starlings in the yard!

 Meanwhile, this gray and dreary day has made me pensive, and so I wrote a poem which is also posted on Kathie’s Poet Tree:

Gray Day

Looking out the window panes

On a gray landscape;

Gray squirrels playing on gray tree trunks,

Gray sky waiting

Steel clouds billow and flatten

Dove skies bleed

Drops of liquid silver

Dull earth waits for water it cannot absorb

Gray birds sing in wet trees

Late winter rain turns gently to snow

And paints the world in white despair again.

Kathie Adams Brown (March 14, 2015)

Birds in the Mist at Scarborough Marsh

 

When you go to the marsh on a misty morn,

 

and follow the trail into the rain,

you don’t know what you’ll find

and you know you won’t be the same,

 

Then the shorebirds fly as you pass by,

thick as fleas against the mud,

as the marsh land grasses winnow and sigh,

 Least Sandpiper

When shorebirds land under stormy skies,

and the Witch over the marshland flies

casting her spell over all who dare

enter her land and breath her air

 

 Least Sandpipers

then birds careen in a wild dance,

in this wild place of sweet romance,

and sandpipers pipe their flute-like songs

 Semipalmated sandpiper

Over the mudflats, over the shores,

over the places they’ll leave before long,

piping their sandpiper migration song,

 

When Autumn’s touch starts to show,

 

that’s your cue; it’s time to go,

 before the ghost birds start to fly,

 

before you start to wonder why,

 

Little Blue and Great Egret too

 

hiding in wait, looking for you,

 

 

sneaking around in the tall grass,

 

 

while the tide rolls out as you walk past,

 

Concealing dark mysteries hidden in mud,

 

 

gray morning waits for the returning flood,

bringing the water that feeds all with wings,

 

 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:

• Birding with Cynthia Part 1-Return to Wharton Point
• Living in Brooklyn, Longing for Maine-Cynthia’s blog
• Our eBird Checklist from this location
• Scarborough Marsh-an eBird Hotspot-Eastern Road

A Rainbow, a Sunset, and some Common Eiders

 Mere Point Boat Launch 4-27-14

At the end of April on Mere Point Bay,

the setting sun decides to play,

and casts a golden glow on me

as I go down to see the sea.

 

A Great Blue Heron sails above

the silver bay and steely sky

it seems to bring the birds of spring,

I stand on shore and watch it fly.

 

All around the glassy bay

I watch the daylight slip away,

 

I watch the first clouds start to blush,

I listened to the water rush,

 

The Common Eiders come floating by

they bob like corks upon the sea,

 

In Mere Point Bay the ducks and buoys,

are nature mixed with manmade toys!

 

and over all a rainbow shines

a promise of the coming spring,

and all the birds the winds will bring!

 

For now the Eiders prepare for sleep,

and float upon the ocean deep,

 

And make their very own parade,

 

while another heron glides o’er the bay,

 

I bid the eiders a calm good-bye

while their gentle growls fill the sky

 

I quickly hurry and cross the street

to watch the sunset on Maquoit Bay.

Here where I stand on the western shore

is where I say good-night to day,

 

I watch the fading lavender light…

 

then welcome the soft indigo night.

Notes: I had a little fun with these shots I took of Mere Point Bay and Maquoit Bay one evening in late April. We had recently had our last snow and I was surprised to see the floating dock out in the bay. It was my first time walking out on it and I was enthralled with the look and feel of it. I walked all the way to the end and felt the motion of the lapping waters and looked back at the shore for a new perspective! It’s now become a ritual whenever I cross the street to the boat launch. Even Miss Blossom, our little dog has come to like walking out on the dock. The Common eiders are still in the bay, but they have been joined by Double-crested Cormorants and the occasional Great Blue Heron. In the bushes and trees surrounding the boat launch I have found sparrows, warblers, and even American Woodcocks!. Just this morning when I went to do a bird count I saw my first Laughing Gull flying over Mere Point Bay and there was still a lingering Blackpoll Warbler along with the Yellow Warblers and Common Yellowthroats. I know my poem is not perfect, but it was a fun way to tell the story. Sometimes my thoughts just come out in rhymes. I can’t help it! I hope you enjoyed it! I caught a little break in all the family activities this afternoon. I hope to have more bird pictures coming soon!

April 16, 2014 (Our last snow)