Signs of spring at Kennekuk

[tigertoy]

Today I went over to the marshes at Kennekuk.  Rain had been forecast, but only a few scattered drops materialized.  There was no ice at all on the marshes, and only a little left on the sheltered west side of Lake Mingo when I climbed up the dam to have a look.  There were bluebirds and a few sparrows, robins singing, and a chorus of frogs.  I stopped at the shelter at the first marsh pond to write for a while.  The geese were very noisy, but I did see a couple of mallards, a pair of wood ducks, and as the sun started to set, a small herd of deer came out and a couple of muskrats swam across the pond several times.  There was a spider spidering about the picnic table.  I saw a phoebe.  Just as I was leaving, I thought I heard a nighthawk, but I couldn't see it, though I heard the call a couple more times as I looked around for it.  It certainly seems too early for a nighthawk.

It's supposed to get colder and wetter for the next couple of days, but they aren't predicting temps below 40.  By next week, at this rate, there will be green growing things.

Spring is starting to make it feel like life might be worth the trouble of living again.

Comments

[birder2.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's a bit early for a nighthawk--your bird was probably a "peenting" woodcock. To me, at least, they sound rather alike; although the woodcock is softer, a nighthawk at a distance sounds much like it.

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

It sounds like a beautiful hike. And I have been enjoying the return of spring here too.