Spring 10: The Real Yeti?

6:25am-7:25am, Bussey and Peters Hills, Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, MA
cold and very clear

Well, the ground feels crunchy-frozen. But even the brambles are starting to bud and I think I heard a house finch today. So overall, spring is winning!

Here is a bramble excerpt (robin foreground, finch? and mourning dove background, cameo by raggedy car):


This little corner on Bussey Hill always distracts me when I'm hurrying over to Peters Hill, trying to beat the sunrise to the top. I've read directions online to building your own bramble pile of old branches to attract birds, so I guess there's an appeal to the woven, protective nature of this kind of environment. Anyway, there's lots of talkative birds hanging out here.

Today's bird was at the very top of Peters Hill. He was unfamiliar-looking - white-chested with some markings, slender beak, robin-sized or a little bigger. Greyish on top, I think, but hard to tell as he was way overhead. But he was The Real Yeti - wow! (That, or I have to start acknowledging the Yeti-sound is a whole genre of birdcall with many distinct practitioners)

*Update 4/4: the Yeti has been identified as a Northern Flicker. Thanks, Rich!*