Daily Archives: June 5, 2017

Eastern Towhee

Eastern Towhee, Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, Wells Maine

I wrote a poem about this encounter at Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve at Laudholm Farms in Wells Maine. 

I took a walk in the woods and fields
at Laudholm Farms today. Sunday.
Our last sunny day for most of a week,
or so the weather says. It seemed the
the whole world was celebrating. Great
clouds (courtesy of the coming storms)
over a luminous landscape…spring going
strong toward summer. In a newly
dry vernal pool a Towhee dug deep
in the damp leaves with impossible 
flicks of feet…cachunk…and leaves flying,
chchunk and a small crater opening under,
pure percussion all out of proportion to the
size of the bird…a Chipmunk followed
picking up the acorns uncovered, and
a Titmouse came in after, looking
for what the Towhee passed up: the 
not a beatle, not a cricket, too small
a grub, denizens of the leaf litter (since
the Towhee ate all those). I thought it
very clever of the Chipmunk and the
Titmouse to let the Towhee do the work.
But honestly, the Towhee looked like he 
was enjoying making the mess…and I suppose 
that is adequate compensation, on a sunny
Sunday, when all the world is celebrating.

Sony Rx10iii at 600mm. Program mode. Processed in Polarr.