The first time I identified a Grey Catbird, I was on a bike ride with a friend on the south side of the River. The two of us were at a prominent Mohawk River overlook in Colonie, somewhere just south of where Clifton Park and Halfmoon share a common southern point.

My friend quickly pointed out a bird he said was calling “Eric”. As it turned out it was a grey catbird, common around here in early summer with it’s cat like “meow” call from which the species got it’s name. The bird can’t vocalize a hard “c”, so I believe it is calling “erie” like in Erie Canal. Of course just below, my friend and I were overlooking the Erie Canal which it shares with the river in this area.

During subsequent tours with visiting groups and family, if I heard the nearby call of a catbird, I would point out that was a catbird. I would invoke my “New England humor” and claim that, in the Erie Canal corridor the relatively common summer avian visitor with it’s nasally “meow” was actually saying “Erie”. I have repeated this claim enough times that even I was starting to believe it! …until one day about 150 miles east of here, on the New England coast, I heard an “Erie” call and spotted the grey catbird perched in a low shrub like tree just back in the high ground above the beach.

This year the catbird arrived early, and is tapping on the window, teasing me to get out and enjoy this wonderful spring weather!