Two days ago I was in my sit spot and Merlin was hearing a mallard. The sound was coming from up in the trees. I have never seen a mallard in a tree. The sound was going on and on. Mallard(on Merlin) was flashing yellow with the sounds. This morning I heard a squirrel off to my right up in the trees giving a warning sound. Looked over to see what was going on. As usual I could not see the squirrel through the canopy. Nor could i see what had agitated it. Still worth looking you never know what you will see. When I looked back at Merlin, mallard had been listed. It would only occasionally light up today when the squirrel was giving its call. That Merlin was giving a false reading of mallard is more consistent with my knowledge of mallard behavior, than what I witnessed.
I am glad that I recognized the squirrel's agitated call for what it was. I think the other day I saw mallard pop up and just thought Merlin must be right. So, I had an experience of listening to a duck in a tree, that did not exist. I wondered what the behavior was. Now I know it was not a duck but a squirrel. It reminds me of the expression "What are you not seeing because of what you are seeing?" Had I asked myself that in real time things may have become more clear or maybe not. Not staring at the screen allowed me to see/hear clearly. Screen time steals from my soul, nature time feeds it.
