a windy Maple Swamp

If a tree falls in the forest does it make a noise if no one is there to hear it? Well, of course, someone is there to hear it: a deer, a fox, a squirrel, a forest bird, maybe even a flock of forest birders. 

We were a group of 15 who had signed up for the Maple Swamp walk yesterday. We had just turned down a side trail to look for the Hooded Warbler that was singing at the spot a couple of days ago when a sudden cracking noise behind caused up all to turn around. A major tree branch -- from a living tree -- came crashing down to earth before our very wide eyes. We had walked past the spot just a moment or two before!

A crashing tree branch was the scariest but not the only major obstacle encountered on yesterday's walk. The cool weather and high, gusty winds made birding difficult. Even when birds came out to sing or feed, it was not easy to get a fix on them before they dashed off as if caught by a gust. Or else they wouldn't come out at all. One of the best birds of the trip, a singing White-eyed Vireo, was barely glimpsed by a few of the group. A single Scarlet Tanager perched high on a dead tree trunk for a moment before whirling away. Some expected birds -- including thrushes, vireos and flycatchers -- were missed entirely. Nevertheless, it was a walk with its exciting moments. A pair of Brown Creepers were seen seemingly on a merry chase from tree trunk to dead tree trunk, possibly a courting pair getting ready to nest (Brown Creepers nest behind pieces of semi-detached bark on dead tree trunks of which there are plenty these days in Maple Swamp). Turkey Vultures were soaring on the breezes overhead (a relatively new sight for the area) along with a big buteo, probably a young non-red-tailed Red-tailed Hawk. Other species of interest were Hairy Woodpecker, Great Crested Flycatcher, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and few warblers. But the best sighting came on the way back and was seen by a single person. Cheryl van Tuyle spotted and flushed a gallinaceous bird off one side of the trail. Her description of the bird on the ground and as it flew away -- gray, smaller than a turkey with a collar marking and obvious banded tail -- was completely convincing as a RUFFED GROUSE! This magnificent bird has long been a resident of Maple Swamp but has been little seen in recent years.

Eric Salzman