Once again, the alarm was set for 3 am and I was in the car at 3:40 listening to the life of Leonardo da Vinci and heading in the direction of Orangeville.

When I learned in March that I had been assigned a new route, I came up to the Hockley area to have a look at it.

Here is how it looked then:

This wet field was full of Tundra Swans on their way north.

Here is that field on this morning:

MYSTERY BIRD

I will identify it at the end of the post.

Other Hockley area views:

Though it was very chilly at the start, the clear sky and lack of wind made it easier to hear and see the birds than it was yesterday when the winds were often strong.

Some of my less often seen birds: Black-billed Cuckoo, Horned Lark, Wood Thrush, Vesper Sparrow, Indigo Bunting, Mourning Warbler, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Great Horned Owl.

With these open spaces I was able to photograph some of the birds:

Sapsuckers use these poles to drum on in order to demonstrate their health and strength for interested females.

Some botany:

MYSTERY BIRD

Looking like a sparrow with blue paint on its tail, this is a female Indigo Bunting.

MAILBOX

Some photos from my east end backyard.

NATURE POETRY

I think if you listen closely
In the sweet, glad days of spring,
With the song of the brook,
the breeze and the birds,
You can hear the flowers sing.       – Helen Isabel Moorhouse (b.1876)

Miles Hearn