29 December 2024 (clear winter morning)

clear winter morning

scoters whistle past

the lighthouse

27 December 2024 (winter surfers)

winter surfers . . .

a raft of sea ducks drifts

into the sun’s glare

1 June 2024 (whale watch)

whale watch —

a pair of surf scoters

outpaces the boat

17 February 2024 (north wind)

north wind

a small raft of sea ducks

drops in a trough

26 January 2020 (scoters)

high seas

disappearing :: reappearing

surf scoters

In the haiku class I’m teaching now, we discussed the potential use of a double colon. Kala Ramesh says,

“The double colon is there to create an unweighted pause. A pause in the breath, a pause in thought. A pause that is different than the weighted or directional relationship our standard punctuation indicates. And that is also different than a hard line break. The two sides of the thought-pause may exist in harmony or in ambiguity.... ”

March 4: Pairs of ducks

Spent the day with a bird guide friend exploring the southern Maine coast, starting at Nubble Light in York and working our way up through Wells. According to him, numbers of geese and black ducks are increasing in the marshes, meaning these waterfowl are making their way northward. Offshore, loons are beginning to molt into breeding plumage and get their spots back. Eiders coo and posture, begin to pair off, as do other ducks: goldeneyes, mergansers, scoters, Long-tailed, and the beautiful Harlequins. (The Black Scoter makes a plaintive sound that sounds just like my cat when she's hungry. One can't help but anthropomorphize and hear the longing in their voices.)

These birds breed further north. Courtship and pairing up now, while snow flurries still fill the air and they're far from nesting, will save time when they reach their breeding grounds. There, with a partner already established and courting out of the way, they can then get right to work mating and laying eggs.

Eider drakes show off,
wooing the russet hens.
High school was like this.