East Bethel

By Richard Grover

I neglected to mention a couple weeks ago that Boston bagged his first turkey this spring. Grandpa Craig Ryerson and his son Keith took Boston on a turkey hunt. Keith did the calling, and Craig coached the young hunter. Craig said the tom turkey came in quite close, and he was helping Boston support the end of the shotgun barrel. Craig asked in a whisper if Boston had the bird in his sights. Boston said, “No, I need to move to the right,” Craig relaxed his grip and told Boston to shoot when he had the bird’s head in the sights. Boston did as he was coaxed and got his first turkey at the tender age of 10! Boston was pretty psyched out over that.

Our corner of the woods seems to be supporting quite a few breeding pairs of songbirds this spring. Looks like 5 or 6 birdhouses have tree swallows in residence, and a similar number of robin nests surround the house and outbuildings. I have seen one pair of bluebirds and several pairs of flycatchers flitting around. Last weekend we watched a tiny olive-green bird constructing an itty bitty round nest on a slender maple twig just outside our dining room window. Our obstructed view prevented positive identification of the bird, but I think it is some kind of warbler. Several hummingbirds also frequent Mona’s feeder and blooming flowers. We love spring!