Tuesday, May 01, 2007

New Species

It's not every day that I see a new bird at the cabin. I've lived here 17 years now and have 130 species on my cabin list. I am happy to report that this morning (in poor light) I found a new bird on one of the snowmaking ponds--an American coot.

The resdient Canada geese are not pleased, nor are the mallard pair that frequent the pond. But for now the bird is here, snaking between the cat-o-nine tails at the far end of the pond.

This morning a rainbow appeared before the rain, before the sun poked above the eastern horizon. It was the earliest in the day I've even seen a rainbow. I was walking Dog, and we had just reached the far end of our morning walk. I turned around to head back to the cabin and there it was, just waiting for me to turn around and see its early morning glory. The 'bow was almost directly overhead, highlighted in the cloudy sky. As it was still early and only just at sunrise, the camera was not with me, so this rainbow will remain only as a picture in my mind. Dog, I must say, was unimpressed, but it took my breath away.

Around the cabin spring continues in a headlong rush. More plants pop up each day. The leaves are visibly further along from morning to night. My view to the west is fast disappearing, and soon I will be living within the green box of the dense summer forest again.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I saw a rail at the pond at Roundrock for the first time after many years of visiting. I think if I could just take an hour or two to sit still with some binoculars in hand, I might have some spectacular new finds.

Carolyn H said...

Pablo,

I'm sure you're right. Some of my best Roundtop sightings have been one-time only things--the pair of Kentucky warblers outside my bedroom window, the hooded warbler in the driveway, the bald eagle roosting in a tree... Just think if I could spend more time looking. Who knows what I'd see? This is especially true in migration when anything can show up at any time. Summer and winter tend not to bring such excitement.

Carolyn H.