Bird Walk at Hildene

The Gray Catbird is a mimic that can sound exactly like a cat meowing (thus the name) or other birds in the thrush family such as the Brown Thrasher, American Robin or Mockingbirds. The slim, mostly gray catbird sports a black cap, long tail and chestnut tailfeathers underneath at the rump. Although skulking and secretive when nesting, it will find a high perch for courtship singing. It winters in Central America.

“Sitting in the catbird seat” means having a superior or advantageous position (as in the top of a bush). It seems to have originated during baseball days in the 1940s when Red Barber announced the Dodger games over the radio and used the expression to mean “sitting pretty”—as a batter might feel with three balls and no strikes on him.

Meet at the Welcome Center. Appropriate for birders of all skill levels, the walks run along forest and meadow…