500th Post! Migration is ON! New Blog!

Red-winged Blackbird, Charles River Peninsula, Needham, MA

Lots of excitement today!

First, this is the 500th post on Circling the Smiling Pond, half-way to 1000! (Some time ago, this one surpassed my original blog, a great nerve vibrating, which is stuck at around 450--time to revitalize, I think).

Second, spring migration has officially begun. Yesterday, I spotted a large mixed flock of blackbirds at the CRP, mostly grackles with a couple of red-winged blackbirds and a robin tossed in.

Finally, I've started yet another (scholarly) blog, this time centering explicitly around the early history of bird protection. I've spent the last few months examining the agricultural press in the early 1800s and have found quite a lot of good material that, as far as I can tell, has been neglected for decades. Please check it out if you are interested. It is called "Winged Wardens," after a term used in a Longfellow poem.