Bird ID

We are not power birders, my beloved and I.  We know just enough to impress people who know only the robin by sight.  Still, we know enough bird calls to know when something is new, and we know enough to listen to the Cornell Ornithology Lab*s bird recordings to figure things out.  We knew this bird sounded small and sparrow-like, even when we could not see it.  Now that we have identified the chipping sparrow, we won*t have to bother the cat for awhile.

The bird

In the maple tree

Across the street

Calls every morning.

We have never caught him

Out in the open.

Evenings we sat and listened

To the Cornell Ornithology Lab,

Bird call

After bird call,

Every possible sparrow.

The cat became tipsy

On bird calls.

Every possible sparrow.

Two weeks on

We figured it out:

A chipping sparrow.

Now we wait for his appearance.

Now the cat

Can finally relax.