young birds

This is the season of young birds: the young of the year, out of the nest, flying a bit unsteadily and moving around in groups, usually with the adults nearby to help out as they learn to find food for themselves. The biggest numbers are in the flocks of Common Grackles that move considerable distances and drop in unexpectedly, often combing through the woodland floor or semi-open fields for sustenance. At the other end of the spectrum are the young orioles which are easy to identify by sound but hard to spot in the tree canopy. The traveling groups of chickadees and titmice consist of 2/3rds young birds moving around with their brethren and sistern and an adult or two. Yesterday there were three Downy Woodpecker young chasing each other around a bare tree limb -- whether for play or in serious competition I couldn't tell. There has also been a young Red-bellied Woodpecker calling forlornly -- perhaps looking for a handout from its parents which were nowhere in sight. Northern Flicker has been calling rather consistently and Great Crested Flycatcher is also in the area but I haven't seen any evidence of successful reproduction in either species (also the Eastern Kingbirds have apparently disappeared; perhaps their nesting attempt was unsuccessful). A young N Cardinal, seemingly attended by both parents, was easy to identify with his black bill and rather dazed look. Some of the local Song Sparrows are also almost certainly young birds although they very quickly look like the adults (but something about their behavior and appearance usually gives them away).

In the flocks of swallows and martins that feed over the marsh there are now also a high percentage of flying young although it is not always easy to pick them out in flight. However I did see a couple of young Barn Swallows seemingly leapfrogging over each other just across the tops of shrubs along the water's edge; it certainly looked like a game. If Tree Swallows can play games with feathers why can't teen-aged Barn Swallows play leap frog?

In my recent enumeration of flowering plants, I neglected a remarkable local plant which is in flower right now. This is poke or pokeweed which has rather unprepossessing greenish white flowers that will later turn into those purple poke berries.

Eric Salzman