Another beautiful, blue-sky day. This early morning I am drinking tea and looking out the patio windows. As I enjoy the view of the freshly cut lawn and watch the birds flit about, a bit of busy-ness above the deck catches my attention.  A small, loose clump of grey moss trembles and jerks around. It seems suspended like a little tube sock from a maple branch.

A tiny head and two bright eyes appear. In a wink, she’s gone. Moments later, another flash, this time with a hint of yellow. More trembling and jerking around, on the branch.  And now I’m sure we have a nesting pair in our tree at the end of the deck.

Despite the yellow, her beak is too long and slender to be a goldfinch. A burst of warbling and I think it might be ‘Mistress Mary’, one of my favourite songbirds that keeps me company on long summer afternoons.

I can look forward to hours of entertainment.

Mistress Mary is just my name for a songbird whose phrases sound like an event organizer ordering people around: 

“Jay-jay, sorry,  Jo-Jo, sit here.”
“That’s your story?
“So?”
“Bring it here.”
“Will you do it?”
“Where are you?”
“Do ya think?”  

She has quite a repertoire of a dozen or so phrases that she repeats faithfully. Fun to listen to. I first heard her about five years ago.

The Hermit thrush has also arrived in Eastern Canada for his summer stay. His ethereal song echoes in the woods.

Readers, scroll through the article in the New York Times to read an interesting article interspersed with bird sounds: Hear 13 Birds Flourishing in a Newly Quiet New York (City).