I can hear! I can see!

I had a cataract operation on my right eye and went down to the water this morning to try out my newly corrected vision. La and behold, in spite of the blinding sunlight, I was able to spot a Spotted Sandpiper as well as a Least Sandpiper on the muddy edges of the pond. The appearance of Spotted Sandpiper around the third week of July is just about on schedule. This bird, in juvenile plumage (no spots on the spotted Spotted), was the first that I've seen this season and, thanks to the skill of Dr. Sheren at Peconic Bay, it was very well seen indeed. Although this species is an uncommon local breeder, the birds that turn up on our pond at this time of the year are most likely early migrants. Another summer sign of fall!

A notable feature of recent days has been the presence of finches. House Finches, which have been in short supply (due largely, I believe, to a crippling eye disease), seem to be making a comeback; at any rate, they have become regulars at the edge of the woods and I have been hearing both their songs and calls. Also, a male Goldfinch has been circling the marsh on what I would have to call a Call Flight and not a Song Flight; as he flies round and round, he calls Per-chick-a-ree, Per-chick-a-ree over and over. The breeding biology of these birds is quite mysterious. They don't seem to be very territorial and they pair up and breed much later than other birds. Their extensive singing in the late winter and spring -- often in choral form -- does not seem directly related to mating activity. Some of the male's songs early in the year are among the longest and most elaborate songs that we hear but their meaning and purpose is obscure. Goldfinches are said to nest later than other species because they time their nesting to coincide with the appearance of thistle seeds (but in our case, they are feeding on Graundsel which has thistle-like seeds). If they are indeed just entering family life right now, perhaps the male's circular sumer Per-chick-a-ree flight, rather than its spring song, is connected with its breeding behavior. Perhaps.

Eric Salzman