Day 1: Getting Oriented

Arnold Arboretum, 6:15am (pre-dawn) - 8am
warm, grey and very gusty
gorgeous glimpses of gold and rose-lit clouds through the murk

Lots of lessons on Day 1:

1) There are far fewer singing birds in early fall than there were in early summer in Dayton, OH (when I first got inspired to do this project). Uh oh....

2) Extremely windy days may reduce birdsong further. However, the torrential leaf-rumbling gusts were inspiring in themselves.

Here is my rendition of the wind, since the actual field recording didn't come out well:


3) This is not a bird -- I saw them in action, and learned that squirrels kind of bark:


4) This is also not a bird -- though it took me longer to figure out. I thought I was capturing my bird of the day, albeit one with an uninspired chirp:


(It's a chipmunk)

5) Dog-friendly parks may contain friendly dogs who come up and interrupt one's communion with the actual bird of the day. At least I got a few moments with my bird!