Bird Highlight: Mallard ducklings

Botany Highlight: Flowering Cherry

Species list: red-necked grebe, double-crested cormorant, great egret, mute swan, trumpeter swan, Canada goose, mallard,   long-tailed duck, ring-billed gull, common tern, Caspian tern, rock pigeon, downy woodpecker, eastern kingbird, willow flycatcher, least flycatcher,  tree swallow, barn swallow, blue jay, black-capped chickadee, gray catbird,  American robin, European starling, red-eyed vireo, warbling vireo, yellow warbler, mourning warbler, yellow-rumped warbler, house sparrow, red-winged blackbird, Baltimore oriole, common grackle, brown-headed cowbird, northern cardinal, American goldfinch,  song sparrow.  (36 species)

Miles Hearn

                                         NATURE POETRY

“HE COULD SELL”

It is early morning

It is already hot

I am tired of waiting.

For the bus

At the Islington platform.

Eleven pigeons stalk the platform

They hunt for bread.

Comes one tiny sparrow

Surveys the pigeons from a crack in the pavement

Finds the one piece of bread

On the Islington platform

Flies away with his prize

In front of all the big boys.

Reminds me of that guy in sales

From Minden, I remember

Just a kid

Brash, acne rash, not much dash

But man could he sell.

Beat out all the big boys.

• Adele Koehnke