April 13
Paddling past the uppermost hemlocks I see two peculiar birds near me on the bank. They are new to me, and I guess that they are crossbills – male and female. They are very busily eating the seeds of the hemlock, whose cones are strewn on the ground. They are very fearless, allowing me to approach quite near.
Paddling past the uppermost hemlocks I see two peculiar birds near me on the bank. They are new to me, and I guess that they are crossbills – male and female. They are very busily eating the seeds of the hemlock, whose cones are strewn on the ground. They are very fearless, allowing me to approach quite near.
At first I had felt disinclined to make this excursion up the Assabet, but it distinctly occurred to me that, perhaps, if I came against my will, as it were, to look at the sweet-gale as a matter of business, I might discover something else interesting.
H. D. Thoreau, Journal, April 13, 1860
To look at the sweet-gale. See .April 22, 1855 ("The blossoms of the sweet-gale are now on fire over the brooks, contorted like caterpillars"). See also December 31, 1859 ("To the sweet-gale meadow or swamp up Assabet. . . .The oblong-conical sterile flower-buds or catkins of the sweet-gale, half a dozen at the end of each black twig, dark-red, oblong-conical, spotted with black, and about half an inch long, are among the most interesting buds of the winter. ")
Crossbills – male and female. . . busily eating the seeds of the hemlock, whose cones are strewn on the ground. See March 8, 1859 ("I see, under the pitch pines on the southwest slope of the hill, the reddish bud-scales scattered on the snow . . . and, examining, I find that in a great many cases the buds have been eaten by some creature and the scales scattered about. . .I am inclined to think that these were eaten by the red squirrel; or was it the crossbill? for this is said to visit us in the winter. Have I ever seen a squirrel eat the pine buds?")
April 13. P. M. – I go up the Assabet to look at the sweet-gale, which is apparently [?] out at Merrick's shore. It is abundantly out at Pinxter Swamp, and has been some time; so I think I may say that the very first opened April 1st (q. v.). This may be not only because the season was early and warm, but because the water was so low, — or would that be favorable?
At first I had felt disinclined to make this excursion up the Assabet, but it distinctly occurred to me that, perhaps, if I came against my will, as it were, to look at the sweet-gale as a matter [of] business, I might dis cover something else interesting, as when I discovered the sheldrake.
As I was paddling past the uppermost hemlocks I saw two peculiar and plump birds near me on the bank there which reminded me of the cow black bird and of the oriole at first. I saw at once that they were new to me, and guessed that they were crossbills, which was the case --male and female. The former was dusky-greenish (through a glass), orange, and red, the orange, etc.; on head, breast, and rump, the vent white; dark, large bill; the female more of a dusky slate color, and yellow instead of orange and red. They were very busily eating the seeds of the hemlock, whose cones were strewn on the ground, and they were very fearless, allowing me to approach quite near.
When I returned this way I looked for them again, and at the larger hemlocks heard a peculiar note, cheep, cheep, cheep, cheep, in the rhythm of a fish hawk but faster and rather loud, and looking up saw them fly to the north side and alight on the top of a swamp white oak, while I sat in my boat close under the south bank. But immediately they recrossed and went to feeding on the bank within a rod of me. They were very parrot like both in color (especially the male, greenish and orange, etc.) and in their manner of feeding, — holding the hemlock cones in one claw and rapidly extracting the seeds with their bills, thus trying one cone after another very fast. But they kept their bills a-going [so] that, near as they were, I did not distinguish the cross. I should have looked at them in profile.
At last the two hopped within six feet of me, and one within four feet, and they were coming still nearer, as if partly from curiosity, though nibbling the cones all the while, when my chain fell down and rattled loudly, — for the wind shook the boat,-and they flew off a rod.
In Bechstein I read that "it frequents fir and pine woods, but only when there are abundance of the cones.” It may be that the abundance of white pine cones last fall had to do with their coming here. The hemlock cones were very abundant too, methinks .
April 13. P. M. – I go up the Assabet to look at the sweet-gale, which is apparently [?] out at Merrick's shore. It is abundantly out at Pinxter Swamp, and has been some time; so I think I may say that the very first opened April 1st (q. v.). This may be not only because the season was early and warm, but because the water was so low, — or would that be favorable?
At first I had felt disinclined to make this excursion up the Assabet, but it distinctly occurred to me that, perhaps, if I came against my will, as it were, to look at the sweet-gale as a matter [of] business, I might dis cover something else interesting, as when I discovered the sheldrake.
As I was paddling past the uppermost hemlocks I saw two peculiar and plump birds near me on the bank there which reminded me of the cow black bird and of the oriole at first. I saw at once that they were new to me, and guessed that they were crossbills, which was the case --male and female. The former was dusky-greenish (through a glass), orange, and red, the orange, etc.; on head, breast, and rump, the vent white; dark, large bill; the female more of a dusky slate color, and yellow instead of orange and red. They were very busily eating the seeds of the hemlock, whose cones were strewn on the ground, and they were very fearless, allowing me to approach quite near.
When I returned this way I looked for them again, and at the larger hemlocks heard a peculiar note, cheep, cheep, cheep, cheep, in the rhythm of a fish hawk but faster and rather loud, and looking up saw them fly to the north side and alight on the top of a swamp white oak, while I sat in my boat close under the south bank. But immediately they recrossed and went to feeding on the bank within a rod of me. They were very parrot like both in color (especially the male, greenish and orange, etc.) and in their manner of feeding, — holding the hemlock cones in one claw and rapidly extracting the seeds with their bills, thus trying one cone after another very fast. But they kept their bills a-going [so] that, near as they were, I did not distinguish the cross. I should have looked at them in profile.
At last the two hopped within six feet of me, and one within four feet, and they were coming still nearer, as if partly from curiosity, though nibbling the cones all the while, when my chain fell down and rattled loudly, — for the wind shook the boat,-and they flew off a rod.
In Bechstein I read that "it frequents fir and pine woods, but only when there are abundance of the cones.” It may be that the abundance of white pine cones last fall had to do with their coming here. The hemlock cones were very abundant too, methinks .
No comments:
Post a Comment