Spring walk, birds in full fling

Yesterday I spent my respite time walking down by the pond, where the birds were in full fling, redwing blackbirds, three males, competing with dancing, spreading wings, shouting prirp at each other, and grabbing for the same branch, which I suppose will be prime nesting territory for the victor.





No females in evidence at this time! they will probably just knit and chat until the males have settled their hierarchy.

A little way away warblers were all over a single tree, black and white, yellow, and various hard to identify ones, the kind Peterson's Guide calls "confusing warblers". Well, yes, there are so many at this time of year at the start of spring migration, that except for a few varieties, I can only identify them as warblers by their flight and height from the ground, and butterfly-like whipping around the trees, and the merry little shouts.

Ducks flying about, too, sort of jumping through the air, flying being officially not possible for a bird with the duck's conformation, but they don't know that and they fly about all the time. Mainly common mallards, though we have several species around here, since we have a lot of waterways and great shallow running water and weeds and all the mod. cons. ducks like.

And the first blossoms I've seen at the pond this year.



And that green is not a meadow in Ireland, it's a sheet of moss under the trees, greened up with the rain and sun.



These pictures all come home with me to show HP, and I often pick little sprigs of shrubs and trees, to set up on his table for him to enjoy. Yesterday the spice bush around the corner from our house came out in flower and the scent is huge and lovely, so a little sample came home with me. He can't smell it, but the blossoms are interesting shapes.

One more week with my respite student and then she's gone, sob, for the summer. She promises to come back to us in the fall, once she's back on campus. But now I have to see what I can do to get a bit of respite time over the summer.