We enjoyed a bit of a thaw here in southern Maine this past week. Temps well into the 50s on Thursday and Friday caused much of the snow and ice to disappear. Up until that time, though, we'd had a lot of very cold weather, and winter was really starting to close in on everyone. My driveway had become a treacherous, icy mess, and trips to retrieve the morning papers and the mail had become adventures in testing my skill at remaining upright.
Therefore, it was a huge--but very welcome!--surprise when I went out to get the papers Wednesday morning [Feb. 16] when it was, at best, 20 degrees, and I was treated to the sounds of several Tufted Titmice singing away, lustily crying "Peter, Peter, Peter" for all they were worth. I had my iPhone with me and, using the Voice Memo feature, recorded the little guys as they engaged in their vocal sparring. The resulting recording was, of course, pretty faint, but by transferring the file to my computer and running it through my audio program several times, I was able to boost the level enough to make it quite clear:
Tufted Titmice 2011-02-16
Two birds in particular were having quite the discussion about which one had the right to be where, but there are at least three individuals audible here.
At the time, Spring and the attendant return of birdsong to our woods seemed like a distant promise. But perhaps the Titmice sensed that we were about to enjoy a bit of a break--albeit a short-lived one--from the deep chill.
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