Deneen and I went to the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge on the coast of southern Maine. At the estuary we saw this harbor seal swimming around looking for a place to bask. The rivers edge proved to steep for it in the end and we got to observe it for quite some time.
Gulls and Canada Geese had been around all day occasionally calling or flying about. As we relaxed against a bank of sand some gulls and a couple geese all squawked at once which caused me to turn around toward the noise. This was not something I think I would have taken note of in the past. Last fall we took an bird language intensive course with White Pine Programs. Since then I have become a little more aware of what all that bird sound might mean. I am most often left wondering.
This day I had little time to wonder. When I looked back I saw half a dozen gulls and two geese calling and flying toward us all in a group. Above and behind them a bald eagle came out of the trees and flew over us. I did not get pictures of the fleeing birds (the movement they made is called a bird plow) but did get this picture of the eagle.
Bird language is an extension of tracking. One can “track” the presence and movement of animals by the reaction of other, more visible or audible, animals.