Paletta Park, Burlington ON. April 19 2020. “Are we there yet?’ It’s on the tip of my tongue; a quote, of course, from the same mouths that gave us “Yuck!” and “I’m bored.” But I know we’re not there yet, it’s only mid-April. Sometimes it can be a long teasing road into spring, and Covid 19 isn’t helping. I tried for some spring breakthrough sightings today and count my blessings that I found a couple of, always charming Ruby-crowned Kinglets, one or two Horned Grebes bobbing far offshore and a pair of Red-necked Grebes snoozing in a quiet backwater, waiting for someone to bring out the old floating tire so they can start nest-building. (see photos below and post from 2012)
I should add that in the absence of our usual seasonal bird population survey work, (temporarily sidelined) I am rising to the challenge of seeing how many species I can find within a 5-mile (or 8-kilometer) radius of home, I started my tally on March 1. I think I’m doing pretty well at 72 recorded so far, today’s kinglet was a valid addition and the snoozing grebes just squeaked in at 4.8 miles from home.
But other than that, my Birds of the Day were a pair of Northern Cardinals taking a bath together. I’m sure no-one would seriously quibble with the notion that a committed couple might shower together but I think we’d probably draw the line at using a small urban stream, icy cold in April. But as I typed this, I remembered that I had indeed done just that, bathed in a blue-with-cold meltwater river (the river that you’ll see in this post) in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, just two years ago. But I didn’t do it with the relaxed composure and relish that these cardinals showed. Perhaps I should have kept my clothes on.