In the summer I usually get up between 9 and 10, well after Mr. Sun, so I miss the primary morning chorus, but there is another between 8:30 and 9:00 or so, and I happened to not only hear but also record it using the Merlin app last week. On Friday, July 28th, I got this surprisingly long list:

• Northern Mockingbird
• American Robin
• Lesser Goldfinch
• Black Phoebe
• Red-Winged Blackbird *
• European Collared Dove
• Osprey *
• Western Tanager *
• Belted Kingfisher
• Short-billed Dowitcher *
• Hutton’s Vireo
• Red-Shouldered Hawk
• Western Bluebird
• Oak Titmouse
• Great-tailed Grackle *

Heavens! Usually I get about five hits at that hour. Looking at the first bird on the list, it’s possible all these are the same bird, to wit our local N. Mockingbird, an industrious fellow who often practices all night and performs all morning during summer. However, I could hear more than one bird, so perhaps not. Per Merlin, the dowitcher and the grackle are not found on central coast, and the three other asterisked ones are highly unlikely now, though we had a osprey neighbor until last year when luxury homes demolished its tree and field. In any case, let’s reduce the list to 11.

Who can remember the ancient times, late last century, when we had to get out of bed to research such questions? I laid the phone on the windowsill while I read, then clicked on each result to hear the recording and get info about each bird’s migration patterns. There are also pictures too, which is good, because it’s quite hard for me to identify most of these birds in the wild because they hide or move, excepting the mockingbird, who has a favored rooftop perch giving him a wide broadcast range, and the doves, who roost in the tree outside our bedroom window.

I was apparently on some sort of regular sleep schedule last week because I woke up in time to do the same thing on Saturday. This time I got 13 hits, nine of them highly probable, including Chestut-backed Chickadee, House Finch, Bushtit, California Scrub Jay, and Common Yellowthroat. I love having so many birds around, although were I able to return to even ancienter times when the Ohlone lived here, circa 1600s, I would be overwhelmed by bird plenitude.

Lying around listening to birds is one of the many joys of semi-retirement, and an inspiration for me to move on to actual retirement as planned. My favorite uncle, only ten years older than me, has been battling cancer and recently was moved into hospice, much sooner than any of us had hoped or was prepared for. Planning for the future is useful, yet so is enjoying every day we can.

From that perspective, my Sunday of indolence–this blog is about the only thing I got done–doesn’t seem so indulgent.