Day of Discovering Neverness, 49th of Spring, 525 M.E. (Betelgeuse): Happy May Day, comrades.  May oppressed working-class men and women all over the world overcome the tyranny of oligarchs and cast off the chains and shackles of autocracy. 

I discovered the North Loop of the Cochran Shoals Trail, today. I don't mean "discover" in a Christopher Columbus way - I recognize that many have walked on that trail before me, including  the U.S. Park Service employees who cleared it and maintain it. It's just that today was the first time I included it in my alternating day walk so it's new to me.

The North Loop adds about two miles to my 10-mile Cochran Shoals/Sope Creek walking route, but ironically I finished today at 8.7 miles, less than my usual distance. I bypassed part of my 10-mile loop since I was initially unsure how much mileage I was adding and overcompensated. But now I have a future goal of completing a 12-mile North Loop-Cochran Shoals-Sope Creek hike - something to look forward to.

During my walk on the North Loop today, I recorded, but didn't see, a belted kingfisher. The belted kingfisher is a stocky and large-headed bird with a shaggy, punk-rock crest. It's powder blue on top with a white underbelly with a blue band. It's almost always solitary, perched along the edges of streams, lakes, and estuaries and emitting the loud, rattling call I heard. 

I know all this because my brilliant daughter suggested I try the free Merlin Bird ID app by Cornell University, which recognizes and identifies birds by song. On my first walk Tuesday, I recorded the usual robins and blue jays endemic to the eastern U.S., as well as many cardinals, Carolina wrens, mourning doves, and tufted titmice. I was excited to also get a downy woodpecker, red-shouldered hawk, indigo bunting, and even a great blue heron wading in the Chattahoochee River. Today, in addition to the kingfisher, I also recorded a summer tanager and a red-eyed vireo. My life list is now 13 species, which isn't a lot but is based so far on only two walks. I haven't even recorded my neighborhood barred owls yet.