Thursday, March 5, 2015

March 5


I heard it for the first time this morning, down near the spillway on the far side of Asnebumskit Pond. Somewhere in the sere stand of Phragmites a red-winged blackbird sang its unmistakable “prrr deeee.” I could only stand still and smile, listening to this sure harbinger of the coming spring.

It must be an optimistic bird, for the pond is still frozen over, and the surrounding berm and woodland is yet covered with at least 6” of snow. Yet there it perched within, hidden inside the tall fronds grasping a single stalk, swaying gently in the morning breeze.

I stayed several minutes just to listen; the bird called and paused perhaps a dozen times, and I couldn’t help but wonder the purpose of its call. The females aren’t due to arrive for nearly a month, so my sense is that this bird might simply be proclaiming this territory to would-be male rivals.

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