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The Harbingers Of Snow Arrived In The Early Morning

A husky rolling warble sound
Then a sharp chi-chi-tik chi-tik
I peek from behind twitched curtains
A snow bunting salutes my peek

The background chi-tiks of her peers
Seem to encourage her to bide
So li'l snow bunting holds my gaze
And I open the window wide

She curtsies before entering
My small, unassuming abode
And circles once and with keen eye
A nest of spiders — soon she's found

Promptly she flies, same as she came
Her abruptness colors me dazed
I wave goodbye, searching the sky
No more ivory Queen Anne's lace

Eddies of wind twirl with white dust
Cheeks puff out, and my brows prick up
I watch a ghost-cloud lunge & lift
Soon it'll snow! I start to hiccup.

© 2023 selmamartin.com

Snow Bunting (Yuki-hoojiro)

The Snow Bunting arrives in Hokkaido as a winter bird, and numbers vary considerably
yearly. They’re normally first seen around November and stay until about the end of
March.

During the winter, they move around over a large area and are rarely seen in the same
place two days in a row.

The Snow Bunting’s Japanese name literally means “white cheek,” and they belong to
the “White Cheek” genus (Hoojiro-zoku), but their silhouette is quite different from other members of this genus.

Both the winter and summer plumage is basically white, and its black wingtips stand
out when it flies.

In the *Okhotsk area, large flocks of several hundred to several thousand gather in
some years from mid-to-late March along the banks of Tofutsu Lake before they migrate
to the breeding grounds, and we can hear their calls.

Source: Birds of the Okhotsk region

The Sea of *Okhotsk is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean.
It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east,
the Kuril Islands on the southeast, Japan's island of Hokkaido
on the south, the island of Sakhalin along the west, and a stretch
of eastern Siberian coast along the west and north.

Source: Wikipedia

I’m nowhere near the Sea of Okhotsk, but who’s to say I didn’t hear them outside
my window this morning? I didn’t actually see them; perhaps I only dreamt it, but
I heard their lovely chi-tik call.

And so, I rewrote a poem to include the white-cheeked snow bunting (Yuki-hoojiro) for you. I hope you like my attempt at one more winter warmth poem.

And then tonight, the temperature fell,
and wind gusts hit my area,
And guess what?
We got flurries.
So there, it wasn’t a dream, right?
Right!

Selma Martin
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This Post Has 31 Comments

    1. Selma Martin

      The pleasure is all mine. Thank you for reading and tweeting. You are a gem. XoXo

  1. Sadje

    A beautiful poem Selma

      1. Selma Martin

        Aaysid, I appreciate you saying. Blessings. Keep warm.

      2. Sadje

        Thank you Selma. ❤️

  2. Aaysid

    This is beautiful!❤️

  3. rajkkhoja

    Lovely poem written. I like.

      1. rajkkhoja

        Most welcome 🌷

  4. Kym Gordon Moore

    Beautiful poem Selma. I never heard of the white-cheeked snow bunting (Yuki-hoojiro) before. You taught me something new today my friend. 🦅🦜🐦

      1. Kym Gordon Moore

        Thanks Selma and you too my dear! Hugs and smooches! 🤗💖😘

    1. Selma Martin

      Glad you found this if value, dear Cheryl. Keep warm. Spring is closer than we know. XoXo

    1. Selma Martin

      I’m delighted to hear you say so. Thanks so much, Barbara. Keep warm.

  5. Michele Lee

    You did a fine job describing the scene. Beautiful imagery, Selma!

  6. memadtwo

    I love the playfulness of your verse, and as you know I always like to learn about birds! (K)

    1. Selma Martin

      K, I know you like birds. Yes 💕 glad you enjoyed this. Keep warm.

  7. Conny

    I love the vivid description that woke up all my senses! Lovely poem, Selma!

    1. Selma Martin

      Woke up your senses. Precious to know this. Blessing you with warmth.

  8. Belladonna

    Beautiful poem and what an interesting animal.Never heard of it.

    1. Selma Martin

      Yes, cute little things… thanks for reading and commenting, Belladonna. BTW, I just pulled 3 of your comments out of spam. Sorry ’bout that. So glad you visited. bless you.

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