Blueberry Plucker

Blueberries

Blueberries as big as the end of your thumb,

Real sky-blue, and heavy, and ready to drum

In the cavernous pail of the first one to come!

And all ripe together, not some of them green

And some of them ripe!
You ought to have seen!

Robert Frost


No cavernous pail, just a willing beak to assist the jaunty Gray Catbird and her morning meal. This is an enchanting bird, fond of folks and garden, an insufferable mimic with songs as fluid as running water. You can see her black cap, long legs ready for take-off, but not the flash of rich rusty colored feathers beneath her tail. She shares the vocal talents of Mockingbirds and Brown Thrashers, stringing along pieces of copied songs and sounds into tunes of her own. She's full of secrets and contagious energy, one of my summer favorites.

Catbird singing on youtube.