Tern in Flight

The soundscape at Pretty Marsh Picnic Area this morning was fabulous. Everything was still, and with the high humidity sounds were carrying far across the water: terns swooping around like swallows and making their odd squeaky cries, loons calling from somewhere out of sight, cormorants landing out on the water with sudden, percussive splashes, distant lobster boats droning out to the bay (and several minutes later the splashing of their wake on the rocky shore at my feet), a kingfisher chattering as it suddenly zoomed around the corner and landed on a washed up tree, the hiss of a brief spell of rain, and a large flock of grackles passing along the bluff above the water with harsh chuckling and much rustling of leaves. Very satisfying and contemplative.