Winter #32: No Fear

6:50-7:40am, Peters Hill, Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, MA
breezy, changing cloudscape


Pre-sunrise was an ooh-fest with some spectacular cloud colors. The clouds then re-arranged the skyscape every few minutes; Mother Nature is so creative!

The dawn chorus is heating up, slowly but surely. I must report that the robins have begun to sing in the last few days; however, my bird today is the Red-Bellied Woodpecker.


I've been very curious to figure out who makes this memorable call, and am excited to finally spot the fellow! It also might be the first time I have identified without doubt a bird with my field guide: his red head and black-and-white speckled coat were distinctive.

It's funny, how relieved I was upon seeing this woodpecker as the caller. I had this fear of being wrong - a worry that this really interesting call might "just" be a bird I already knew, like a blue jay. Silly to be afraid of making an incorrect guess, isn't it? I'd like to be more fearless in my quests/guesses - that seems a healthier way to learn.

Here are a couple bonus clips of the dawn chorus. Wows, it's getting busy, mostly familiar characters, but everyone at their singing best: singing robins, house finch, woodpeckers drumming, and all kinds of blackbird variations.

Even the jays are sticking to more melodic contributions: