Veery and the Sublime

I woke up this morning to this sound, probably my favorite sound in nature:

Veery 49kB

This sound clip doesn't really capture it's echo-y, harmonic quality.

The first time I heard the song of the veery I was walking in the woods near Bear Pond, where my Nana lives. I grew up spending summers there, and I feel very comfortable in those woods normally.

However, the strange, otherworldly, flute-like song of the veery made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. I had one of those moments of the sublime: frozen, awe-struck. I honestly thought I was listening to the pipes of Pan. It was that eerie.

I turned around and walked right back to my Nana's house. I didn't know it was a tiny, nondescript bird that made that huge sound.

Here's a link to more information about the veery.

And here is a picture of it.