a big morning

This was the big migrant morning that we've been waiting for. It was, not surprisingly, overwhelmingly dominated by Yellow-rumped Warblers. As the sun came up, dozens -- make that hundreds -- of birds appeared at the edge of the marsh, mostly popping up out of the phragmites, groundsel and marsh elder and into the cedars and oaks nearby. These warblers (we used to call them Myrtles, a name I still prefer) were accompanied by fair numbers of tail-wagging Palm Warblers (including at least one 'hypochrysea' or 'Yellow' Palm Warbler, a subspecies that we see more commonly in the spring) plus the season's first (at least in my view) Ruby-crowned Kinglets. I also had my first good views of Golden-crowned Kinglets, a few of which were also working the marsh edge instead of the tall pines and oaks they usually prefer. I've suspected their presence in recent days but this was the first time I had a look at them and, since they were uncharacteristically low, I could actually see the golden crowns!

That's not all. My favorite (my nomination for Best Bird of the Day) was a singing Purple Finch perched high on the big tupelo at the head of the marsh. It was in a female-type plumage (this is one case where the female plumage makes the bird easier to identify) but it was, no doubt, a first-year male.

Other warblers were American Redstart and a Pine Warbler type with streaks on the back -- not a Pine Warbler at all but a Blackpoll in fall plumage (also the first seen this season). Both Red-eyed and Blue-headed Vireos were well represented. Other birds included a morning burst of Am Robins with a few N. Flickers mixed in, a number of Eastern Phoebes (there's one fluttering around outside the kitchen window as I type this), Eastern Wood-pewee, some high-flying Tree Swallows, both nuthatches (the White-breasted was the first of the season; the Red-breasted has been here for a while), Marsh and Carolina Wrens (both singing), Song and Swamp Sparrows plus the usual mimids (Mockingbird & Catbird), corvids (crows & jays) and larids (gulls, that is; no terns at all).

There were V lines of D-c Cormorants overhead all morning. The recent parade of fishing and migrating Osprey continued with up to 5 and 6 birds on the creek at a time. Judging by the noisy crows and jays, there were probably more than a few raptorial visitors around but I saw only three: a Red-tailed Hawk soaring over Pine Neck, another being chased across the creek by a pack of crows, and a Northern Harrier that came winging its way over the creek seemingly unnoticed by the jays and crows (who also ignore the Ospreys).

And not to forget: two Box Turtles active in the warm weather: one with bright yellow markings and a bright orange eye (presumably a male) and a slightly smaller one that was mostly black with orange highlights and dark eyes (presumably a female). I know you can tell the sexes apart by looking at the plastrons but, as they completely ignored me, I preferred to just let them go their own way.

Eric Salzman