THE TWELVE MONTHS OF COVID: Nature's Gifts in a Time of Pandemic

A Poem with Pictures - worked up for Bird Tales, an event sponsored by Friends of the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge, and presented via ZOOM on 2/11/21

Listen to Maeve speak her poem at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ex2yGv6QGDetdwGboLqFfde-Gpzxqm8K/view

MARCH   

In the first month of COVID, my true love said to me:

Drivin’ around for birding just isn’t gonna be

Sure hope the birds start travelin’ 

and come here to you and me.

The first were Red-winged Blackbirds 

with epaulets of red and yellow ... 

and then some streaky females

burnt orange blushes 

at the boldness of the fellows.

and then one Eastern Bluebird,
curiously peering down

as ready as we were, to welcome spring to town. 

APRIL

In the second month of COVID, my reason said to me  

‘Tis time to cancel two great trips – 

          oh, woe is me!!

But birds didn’t know my misery ... They just kept feeding busily

And belting out their spring time songs!

The Goldfinches were hedging their bets 

holding on to winter’s old ...

while little bits of brand-new yellow

turned themselves to gold.

And then one lonely vulture,

the first one of the year,

Soaring, tilting, searching 

For a winter-killed deer.

And dapper little Chipping Sparrows

Sapsuckers! Winter Wrens! 

and a different kind of black bird – the kind that we call cow-  

While Grackles glared and strutted, 

daring winter to come back now!

MAY

And in the third month of COVID, 

IT DID!  

The grey skies of a cold May

brought gray catbirds, 

gray on gray,

muted with muted,

Quaker quiet.

And then a splash of color!! 

Black and orange and yellow!

shocking to our eyes!

Baltimore Orioles, returning north 

Hey! What gives???

and finding only SNOW, 

were desperate to know 

Where’s all the fruit and insects

that we badly need, to live?? 

We rushed outside to give 

them what they desperately sought:

We put the suet back outdoors,

A dozen oranges bought! 

We were dizzy with the colors!  

We were dizzy with the numbers! 

We watched them finish two pints of jelly

that I’d made last summer

The gifts for us of this pandemic - 

       The gifts of backyard birding!

And then more colors!  

And still more! 

And the warblers 

spirited rainbows of spring

chasing the too-long enduring black and white 

as the trees lost gray and black 

and spring’s flowers and green came back! 

JUNE and JULY   

For the next two months of COVID,

My true love and me,

we lived inside our gardens

As busy as we could be –

We filled the freezer and the pantry, 

our plates and bellies too! 

But we were always on the lookout 

to see a bird or two! 

Birding while gardening

AUGUST

In the sixth month of COVID, my true love asked of me, “What’s that bird up in that tree? It looks so odd to me!”

A Scarlet Tanager!

All mottled in its molt

The first ever in the yard 

and then another!!

SEPTEMBER and OCTOBER 

The autumn months of COVID

treated my love and me

to another wave of migrants,

including kinglets three - or more!

The autumn months of COVID

challenged my love and me 

with fall warblers in great numbers,

Cape May Warbler

in just about every tree! 

Tennesee Warbler

Nashville Warbler

Our summer regulars lingered 

Common Yellowthroat adult

With all their summer offspring 

juvenile Common Yellowthroat

The catbird couple munched wild grapes

but Junior, their teenager

twirled a baton 

and played 

at being a drum major.   

NOVEMBER 

The ninth month of COVID,

Featured birds we rarely see 

Evening Grosbeak

For this is an irruption year 

For my true love and me. 

Red-breasted Nuthatch

DECEMBER

In the tenth month of COVID

What’s happened to the birds????

We got the regular species  

We got the regular numbers - 

But they didn’t stop to visit 

They didn’t stop to linger

They didn’t stop to eat a seed out of Bernie’s fingers. 

What airborne danger made them wary?

We looked but couldn’t see.

It could have been a hawk or owl 

a-sittin’ in a tree.

JANUARY  

The eleventh month of COVID 

Treated my true love and me 

To four and twenty Redpolls 

As pretty as could be!  

And Pine Grosbeaks in a spruce tree!  

FEBRUARY  

The twelfth month of COVID

Brought snow and snow - and snow.

Our little redpolls just aren’t ready

To go!

It’s the twelfth month of COVID

And my love and I agree:

This virus has overstayed its welcome, 

It’s time for it to flee!

We find ourselves a-wondering,

what does the future bring?

And we assure ourselves of one true thing,

One thing of which we’re sure: 

For so many fears and worries

Nature has the cure.

View and listen to the other presenters including Maeve at http://friendsofmissisquoi.org/birdtales/

photos by Bernie, words by Maeve - inspired by this post of Bernie's

comments e-mailed to us:

That was beautiful and so true.  Betty

That was lovely and the pictures were fun.  Thanks  JA

I enjoyed it so very much!    E