Northern Mockingbird at Marie Curtis Park / April 8, 2019

Northern Mockingbirds don’t seem to be as common as they were about 10 years ago but I see one regularly near the parking lot for the dog park at Marie Curtis Park:

Northern Mockingbird

It was strange weather this morning (7 degrees at the start) with fog at first and then occasional brilliant sunlight which had us all reaching for the zippers of our coats.

Here is this morning’s group:

Some scenes from the park:

Some botany:

Riverbank Grape tendrils (Vitis riparia)
Trembling Aspen (Populus tremuloides)
Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron rydbergii)
Black Cherry (Prunus serotina)
Sweetbrier (Rosa rubiginosa)

Here is what Ash trees infected with the Emerald Ash Borer look like:

Red Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica)

Species list: mute swan, Canada goose, mallard, American black duck, wood duck, bufflehead, turkey vulture, ring-billed gull, red-bellied woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, downy woodpecker, tree swallow, blue jay, American crow, black-capped chickadee, northern mockingbird, American robin, golden-crowned kinglet, European starling, house sparrow, red-winged blackbird, common grackle, brown-headed cowbird, northern cardinal, American goldfinch, song sparrow.  (26 species)

Song Sparrow
Mallard (female)
Buffleheads
Tree Swallow
Turkey Vulture
Song Sparrow

NATURE POETRY

April the Beautiful, with streaming eyes,
Weeps o’er the havoc that rude March has made.
The dales are musical with her sweet sighs,
Tears mark her footsteps o’er the moistened glade.    – John Askham (1825–94)

Miles Hearn

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