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2006-04-21 - 2:56 p.m. I just got a snail mail letter from the ESP Lab of Texas. Slim as it was, too slim to be the newsletter or an order form for his books, I didn't need ESP to know what it was even before I opened the letter. The director, Al Manning, had passed away a couple of weeks ago. Well, he always wrote that he planned to have a good time, even at his own funeral, and I hope he did. I went to the Business Expo today at the Castine Center. It was a pitiful shadow of its former self. We all stood around and complained that there were no free beer tastings this year. There were hardly any goodies except for cookies and Bananas Foster. Not really in accord with DH's low carb plan. Oh well, if my rings are falling off my finger when I put mail in the mailbox, I might as well eat up. Afterward, I went on a walk at the Nature Center trail. It was both hot and windy, so not ideal for birding. Nonetheless I walked right up to a Great-Crested Flycatcher, or in any case, if I see it, the call is going to be Great-Crested Flycatcher -- no Ash-Throated/Brown-Crested/hybrid high weirdness for me -- and a little later I came right up on a very bold, unbashful White-Eyed Vireo. He even sang for me a little after awhile. I could see every feather, especially the gold spectacles and heavy gold frame over his nose that emphasized the round white eyes. Oh, and driving back into Mandeville, I also had a Bluebird cross my path. I hope that's a good sign. I saw a number of reptiles -- a good-sized alligator, a broad-headed skink missing his tail, a red-eared turtle, a carolina anole, and a blue runner. There was quite a lot of song, but I struggled. For sure I had Song Sparrow, Red-Eyed Vireo, Northern Cardinal, Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Blue Jay. I had either Swamp Sparrow or Pine Warbler -- doesn't matter how often I listen to the tape, I've got to see the bird to distinguish those two. I also had either American Robin or Summer Tananger. There were quite a lot of them, and we had a poor showing of Robins this winter, so I'm leaning toward the Tanager. Also, at one spot where the hidden bird was singing loudly, I could hear babies calling. However, I can't make a 100 percent for sure ID because I never noticed any whinny (Robin) or picky-tucky-tuck (Tanager). And it isn't impossible for Robins to breed here. Indeed, years ago, in the oak tree destined to fall on my house, we had Robins breeding in the heat of summer. The male would sing very, very loudly, and just a short distance away from the babies in the nest. It was amazing how difficult it was to find him hidden in the oak leaves, even after I figured out where the nest was and where he usually liked to perch. It hasn't rained in weeks, if not months, but today we had such a drenching storm that I had to pull off the road while I was driving home. Never a dull moment. After I read the letter about Dr. Manning, I went walking for a few minutes, and I saw a Common Grackle chasing a European Collared-Dove, a sight which perplexed me. It chased for quite a long way. What could a Dove do to a Grackle? later DH and I just had dinner at the new Italian restaurant where I discovered that Vincent's Chocolate Martini equals the old-school chocolate-drizzled martini from our good friend Donald Trump -- before they decided to change the recipe and make it a clear chocolate martini. Returning home and looking out the back window, I spy my first yard Eastern Kingbird of the year.
All Rights Reserved, Copyright 2002-2017 by Elaine Radford
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