New Hampshire Nature Notes
by Eric Orff

Another Peaceful Morning.

Wednesday 07/07/2004

All is quiet at 7:00AM this Wednesday morning. A tufted titmouse and a cardinal have called sporadically since dawn. There has been the bubbling exuberant voice of a house wren the last week or more. This is the "second or third shift" season for the titmouse and the cardinal. That is they are likely on their second or probably even third nesting cycle for the year. Last year a cardinal nested late in the spring first in a lilac near the Southeast corner of my house. I saw the nest under construction and before I knew it the young had fledged. She built a second nest, and likely her third nest of the season, on the Northeast corner lilac a short time later. I have not seen a nest this year but a pair is constantly around the house so I'm sure the nests are not far off.

The bubbling call of the house wren signaled the start of the "late" nesting birds. Yesterday I noticed a few sticks protruding from a newly erected decorative bird house right near my breezeway door. I'm pretty sure this is the work of the wren. Some birds like wrens, American goldfinches and bobolinks arrive well after the other birds, usually in June.

The air is still this morning. Despite the outside thermometer saying it's only 58 degrees, it sure seems warmer than that. Even with the windows all open the air feels thick with humidity. Even the Suncook River seems as tranquil as the air. The early morning sun sweeps across the river in stripes as if brushed on. The lush maple, birch and white pine foliage brackets the river casting an even more lush darker green perfect reflection, save for the highlights of splashes of morning sun. Swallows seem to be the source of this work of art as they are the only moving object casting back and forth my canvass of view. I think I'll head to my deck to gain a few feet on this view and try to connect before this warming sun erases the scene with a puff of breeze.