Yesterday, snow and temperatures hovered around zero; today, rain and nearly 50 degrees. Even so, I wasn't expecting to hear a Carolina Wren calling loudly across the street when I left for work this morning. A southern bird that was a real rarity in Maine when I was a kid, over the past decade or so the resilient Carolina Wren has begun to settle in here; more and more seem to be wintering over. But it's not yet as established and abundant as the cardinal, another southern species that made its way north, or the Mourning Dove, which we take for granted now but which was an exciting sight for Maine birders back in the 1950s.

 

trilling loudly in the rain

sounds grateful for the thaw.

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