It was a fairly cool day at the garden, blustery, about +9, some sun. There were no swallows to be seen anywhere. However, red-winged blackbirds were busy settling into the pond. There was one female and about 8 males, all making a ruckus, great to hear. The usual birds were around, robins, chickadees, juncos, white-breasted nuthatches, and so on.

New today, at least for me at the garden, was an eastern phoebe. A white-throated sparrow was in the woods, making good use of the brushpiles. A bit later in the day, a beautiful pale gray male northern harrier was circling over the Birch grove area, being harassed by a crow.

Starlings were singing up a storm, and this one was burbling, chuckling, and gurgling as only starlings can!