The Wrack

This morning in the rain sang a mimic, repeating phrases once or twice then moving on. The bird was by the pumpkin patch? or maybe in the stand of lilacs. I was on my routine approach to the big house.I had to take a couple of steps toward the sound to enjoy it  and to be sure I wasn't hearing a mockingbird. No: Thrasher. First of the spring.That's this Winged Wednesday. Next one starts a…

More singing in the air today. The avian highlight of a brief noontime walk was a Merlin winging northward low over a field beyond the barns.…

Piping Plovers returned to Laudholm Beach by today. They'll likely be with us into August. Let's hope for a productive year here and along the Maine and Atlantic coasts.…

A flock of 45 Canada Geese flew north along the shoreline this morning. Below them, in the Webhannet Marsh along Wells Harbor Road, stood a solitary Great Blue Heron. Somewhere way up, a Tree Swallow scratched out a few notes. They're hints of spring movement that ought to start in earnest any day now. Green-winged Teal, American Black Ducks, Canada Geese, and Mallards were the waterfowl close at hand. Red-…

Midway through March, early signs of vernal reawakening appear at the Wells Reserve.