Dreary

 

6:40 to 8:00 am, 64 Degrees, Cloudy, Wind 8mph E, 

There is a a storm coming. I think I need to start adding barometric pressure to the top line. I suspect birds are far more attune to that than modern humans are. Should start raining after dark tonight. I may have felt some heavy mist or a drop in my sit spot. The birds seemed subdued. There was chatter just not that much. Also, I do not think it was blowing 8 mph like the app said. 

As I said yesterday, I moved the sit spot ten feet to the east. And was rewarded with a view of this hole in a tree. Maybe a white oak. Will definitely investigate more. It looks as if there is a whole on the left hand side as well. A green leaf in there makes me think it is in use. Perhaps a woodpecker? A squirrel hole? I saw nothing come or go, yet. More will be revealed if I just sit and let it happen.

Since the birds were quiet this morning I was sitting very still. No turning, shifting, craning my neck, just still. At one point I turned and a small greenish yellow bird was coming right for me. It was perhaps five or six feet from me when I picked it up. It flew within two feet of my face and it was moving. I never really got to focus on it. It came and went in about a second. One of those did this just happen moments. Wild! I am guessing Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. Unlikely in Portland today. I am only guessing this as Merlin Identified it today. The Little Forrest is wild. 

I am once again reminded by how much can be learned by sitting quietly and listening. Not just learning about birds. I never once learned anything by speaking. It is by listening that I learn. Folks will talk to fill the void. It is amazing what can be learned by sitting quietly and letting life happen around you. 

Merlin heard 23 species. It did not pick up Herring Gull. I heard a few on the wind. Northern Waterthrush again. This was a mis identification today. It was picking up a chipping noise at the top of the Gulley. Not where the waterthrush would be. It heard a Great Egret for the first time in The Little Forrest. This I will add to the list. Very plausible one was flying over. Not going to add the fly catcher to the list. It is plausible that the flycatcher was migrating to its wintering grounds in Southern Mexico and Central America. Wildly connected to the world is The Little Forrest.

Small Changes, Big Rewards

 

3:40 to 5:00pm, 68 Degrees, Partly Cloudy, Wind 7mph E

Wow! Another Black_capped Chickadee feeding frenzy. I moved another ten feet to the east. A seemingly small change. Big difference. The chickadees fed for a long time. My small change made a large difference to the inhabitants of The Little Forrest. I am closer to where the crick turns south into Fall Brook. Or would if there was any water. I could hear the chickadees off to the east. Then see them is silhouette on the far side of The Little Forrest. Near the yards of the houses on the other side of the Gulley. Into the dense copse of trees. Into Old Red, Into Pinky, then everywhere! Mostly I sat still and let them be. From their perches near the feeder to the feeder and back they went. At times they would perch on a branch less that five feet from my face! Too close for me to move. Sometimes flying just feet over my head. On and on they sang and flew. The Little Forrest was alive with bird song and activity. It became contagious. Then came the White-breasted Nuthatches. 

And then the Downy Woodpeckers

It was amazing at one point there were maybe thirty chickadees, two nuthatches, and two downys that I could see at once. Just alive and letting it be. I think letting the chickadees feed freely allowed the others to feel safe. The Blue Jays came lower into The Little Forrest than they usually do. I saw more of the jays than I ever have. Maybe five at one time. I suspect some of that was my small move, ten feet, to the right.Small change, big reward! A better advantage point of seeing where Fall Brook is. Fall Brook comes out of Canco Woods and the south into Casco Bay, in the Gulf of Maine, in the Atlantic Ocean. 

The Little Forrest is connected to the larger world. And the larger world affects The Little Forrest. At one point I could hear the Norwegian Cruise ship blow its horn. More than two miles away as the crows from The Little Forrest flies. Do the people of Norway think of The Little Forrest when they send their ships here. Probably not. However their noise pollution comes anyway. Today the Little Forrest was connected to Norway. It is all connected. I have a meditation teacher named Devon who says, "if a butterfly flaps its wings in China it affects us here."

Merlin heard 21 species. Most were probably there. I question the wild turkey. I know I put it on the list for the Little Forrest. However, I am thinking of taking it off. Northern Waterthrush came up again. No water in the crick or Fall Brook so... I did see a bird down where it is clearly damp and water would be. It was the size and shape of a waterthrush and the colors were right. I can't say for sure. A little move in the right direction and was rewarded with a new sight. 

Move a Muscle

 

6:30 to 7:30 am, 57 Degrees, Clear Skies, Wind 5mph NNW

Move a muscle change a thought. Perhaps not the right phrase. I moved maybe two feet to my right and I noticed a birch tree. It does not take much of a shift to change one's perspective. It is not that close to me. It was behind some tree trunks. The other day when it was slow in the sit spot I saw some birch bark on the ground down by where the crick would be if it was not a drought. I thought I was wrong because I had not seen a birch tree. I need to trust my observations more. 

As I walked out my door I could see Black-capped Chickadees on the feeder in front of my home. These are the same chickadees that inhabit The Little Forrest. I saw them fly out to the island as I walked out to the sit spot. Shortly after I sat, the chickadees came into the Little Forrest from behind me. Low and all around me for a moment. I had hoped they would hit the feeder near my sit spot. Same feeder same seed. They are eating the seed in front of my house faster than in The Little Forrest. It has been there longer. Perhaps it is because they have been eating in front of my condominium for years. From All About Birds

• The oldest known wild Black-capped Chickadee was a male and at least 11 years, 8 months old when it was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in New York in 2021. It had been banded in the same state in 2009.

 It is amazing to me what watching nature regularly has changed in me. I have moved into watching the birds and now I think about the birds more. I have never really thought about how old a chickadee could be. Now I wonder.  

When I got to my sit spot there was a fair amount of bird activity. Mostly calls. The aforementioned chickadees flying through. And one agitated squirrel. The bird calls did not seem agitated. Around ten minutes or so, there was a squirrel in Old Red clearly agitated with me! I thought we had passed that. It took off to the west. I followed its travel through the motion of branches and leaves. It moved to the far end of my sight. Perhaps it was not a regular visitor to the Little Forrest. Later another squirrel traveled within ten feet of me without worry. My phone shifted on my chair and I moved and the squirrel moved faster! It let out a couple of quick calls and then stopped. So, I am not fully trusted. 

The birds while calling seemed subdued until the sun started to reach down into the Little Forrest. It was 57 degrees. It seems like the fifties is the time they slow in the mornings. I know a few of the birds are year round. It gets much colder so it will be interesting to see how they act going into winter. Some birds will head to South America! Not sure when they will leave but the Red-eyed Vireo travels to the Amazon rain forrest. A much larger forrest. And that to is connected to and part of The Little Forrest. Amazing how interconnected everything is!

Merlin heard 23 bird species. Most of them were probably there. The mallard was an agitated squirrel. I still do not think there is a water thrush in the Little Forrest as there is no water. We are in drought. 

Seemed Quiet

 

5:55 to 6:55am, 59 degrees, Clear Skies, Wind 7 S

Seemed Quiet even though I heard many bird species. Fall has arrived in The Little Forrest Even if it is still 23 days away. In Maine winter comes early and stays late. Not a terrible amount of bird activity this morning. A fair amount of song and calls. The sun does not actually start to warm up the Little Forrest until about an hour and a half after sunrise. It takes its time to rise over the islands in Casco Bay, part of the Gulf of Maine in the Atlantic Ocean.   

This Grey Catbird was checking me out. There is quite often one near the feeder at 23. This morning it came into the Little Forrest and circled me a bit. It stopped a few times to check me out. It would have a clear line of site to me while still having a little something in between us. I suspect some birds have done this without me even knowing. 

The squirrels were active this morning. Not really affected by the cold. I saw at least one chipmunk. I suspect I saw the same one on two occasions. It is not often that I see a chipmunk in the Little Forrest. I am guessing where there is a whole for it from the few times I saw one. 

At one point I heard a Red-Breasted Nuthatch. Or as I like to say lobster-breasted nuthatch. Maine you know. It is the first time I was sure without Merlin.  Unlikely in Portland today. I knew! My hearing is getting better. It sounds a lot like the White-breasted Nuthatch. Maybe smaller and less deep. it is a cool feeling to know a bird sound and not question it. 

Sound can only be heard in the present moment. Perhaps that is why nature/bird meditations are so good for us. Must be present to hear the birds.

Merlin heard 22 species this morning. Way different than yesterday afternoon. Also, I do not think the wind was actually 7mph. The tree canopy was barely moving. Unlikely in Portland today. Eastern Towhee, White Throated Sparrow, and Red-breasted Nuthatch. The nuthatch was definitely here. I suspect the White Throated Sparrows are here as well. I also saw five Mallards fly over. Not a bad morning in the Little Forrest. 

Super Slow

 4:00 to 4:30pm, 73 Degrees, Clear Skies, Wind 9mph S

Afternoons are a slow time. Merlin did not register a bird until minute seventeen. A goldfinch. Even for afternoon that is slow. With the wind and gusts, I suspect much of the song was blown away. I sit on the south side of the Little Forrest so the wind was blowing from my back and away. It definitely is starting to feel like fall. That could have something to do with it. Looking forward to tomorrows sit spot. 

Alarming!

 6:10 to 7:15am, 68 Degrees, Cloudy, Wind 5mph SSW

I think the Northern Cardinals have come to accept me in their home, The Little Forrest. I saw much more activity from them when I sat down. Flying from the copse of trees across from me to the ferns at the bottom of the gulley, to the vines on the far side of the gulley, and to trees on my side of the gulley. Just way more activity. Some of which is easy to miss. Through practice, I am making progress on my ability to see the happenings of The Little Forrest. A pair of cardinals in the open was kind of cool.

About twenty minutes into my sit the alarms went off! And this feral cat came through. I heard the squirrels screaming behind me before I saw the cat. The cat was moving fast and stealthily. Down into the gulley and into the ferns. For a moment it came out of the brush and gave me a look. That was when I was able to get the photograph. There were times that I could see it but could not photograph it in the undergrowth. This cat is a predator! It moved to the east towards Canco Woods as did the alarm calls.  Not only were the squirrels screaming the birds were squawking. An incredible amount of noise. I probably saw more birds flying in the canopy, than I had in the six or seven weeks I have been doing this. The alarms, no doubt communicated that the threat was on the ground and go high in the trees. Merlin added six or so birds in this period. I could not really distinguish the individual species in the riot of noise. 

There is another house cat I have seen. It just sits in the sun in the back yards of the houses across the gulley. No alarms for that cat. My guess is the animals of The Little Forrest know the cat. I suspect this cat gets fed at home. 

There was something giving off an alarm call for twenty minutes or so after the predator cat passed. It was off to the west. The opposite direction of the cat. I have referred to this sound as agitated squirrel in the past. When I say squirrel I mean Grey Squirrel. The only squirrel I have seen in The Little Forrest. This alarm is not the warning call of a grey squirrel. Sounds more like a chipmunk but larger. Perhaps a red squirrel. I do not know. The birds were quiet for twenty to thirty minutes. 

Merlin Identified 23 birds. Most of the usual suspects. It did not identify Mourning Dove, However, I saw three! They were not mourning this morning! A few red dots. Red shouldered hawk! It showed up dureing the alarm riot of noise. So I do not know if it was up above the Little Forrest or not. I love the sound of hawks on the wind. 

More Will Be Revealed!

 

6:15 to 7:10am, 64 Degrees, Partly Sunny, Wind 0mph 

Wow! I saw way more birds than I have before. Even with yesterdays chickadee feeding frenzy. I saw about five Northern Cardinals at the same time. So far they have been elusive. I could here them calling back and forth before. I was guessing that it was a pair and maybe it was. They really like the dense section of woods directly across from my sit spot. There is a (I need to find out) bush near 23's bird feeder. Birds often stop there before getting on to the feeder. (is it safe?) Mostly I have seen catbirds and downys on the feeder. Today the cardinals were hitting the feeder. At one point when I was looking at a Downy Woodpecker, a flock must have come over. I looked over towards the feeder and five cardinals flushed and flew across the gulley to the dense copse of trees. Two males, three females. I have seen birds fly between 23's feeder area and the dense copse before. However today I saw it happen many times. Perhaps, I was just missing it and I am getting better at spotting it. I think the birds are getting more comfortable with me. At one point there was a male less than twenty feet from me with a clear line of sight. No obstructing branches or leaves. Super cool! The birds are definitely more comfortable with me sitting there.

Photographer Steve McCurry said if you only have seven hours a week for photography do an hour each day. To keep your mind thinking about it. Every day. I am certainly thinking about the sit spot when I am not there. I get excited to see what happens next. Sorry for the poor photo. 

Part of more being revealed is because of practice. We are not so much what we think as we are a collection of our habits. I am practicing sitting and watching The Little Forrest. Remember, Practice makes progress. 

There was another visitor to 23's feeder this morning. I could see a bird in the bush and then in the grasses and weeds past where it is mowed. I had the binoculars on it for a bit. However I was looking through so much greenery I could not see it clearly. I was sure it was a Brown Thrasher. When it flew off I looked at Merlin and it had added Brown Thrasher! Unlikely in Portland today. Red dot. And yet...

Merlin identified 19 bird species. Only two had the red dot. Three more in the Unlikely in Portland today. However I have seen Baltimore Oriole, Carolina Wren, and Northern Flicker in Canco Woods recently.