Last Light on Bergen Peak

Bergen Peak’s high summit has been streaked with eternal snow all year long and the mountain’s east face is displayed like a silver facade. Ribbons of gray clouds fill the sullen sky, creating a forbidding flyway.

During the transition between seasons, a mighty wind is funneled down through the foothills’ many drainages. It’s as if the powerful breeze banishes the current, lingering season and brings forth the stubborn, new one.

After such a cold and stormy winter, the still frozen lakes and ponds have delayed the arrival of our feathered migrants. Despite harsh conditions, the first birds I’ve seen were a flock of famished American robins.

The long flight apparently infused the red-breasted marauders with a voracious appetite. The birds were observed on the rocky slopes plucking blue berries from the fringes of a fresh juniper bush.

The robins’ signature calls betrayed their frantic activity that added some color and interest to an otherwise dull and lifeless landscape. I can tell it won’t be long now before the rest of the clan arrives and raises a raucous over nest construction and territory defense.

A feathered migrant

Transition between seasons

Wind is funneled through a drainage

A cold and stormy winter

A silver facade

A forbidding flyway

Streaked with white snow

Robins were first to arrive

A voracious appetite

On the fringes of a juniper bush

They added color to the landscape