blackbirds in a roost, Osprey on the creek, sparrows in silhouette

The main sign of life this morning down at the marsh was the huge racket being made by the Red-winged Blackbirds in their roost in the big stand of Phragmites on the Bay Avenue side of the marsh. This roost, which forms every fall, has been growing in past weeks and there may be as many as a couple of hundred birds overnighting there. For all the noise this morning -- chuckles, whistles, clucks and gurgles -- not a single bird was in sight; everyone was well hidden deep inside the thick stands of reeds. At one point, a Merlin came winging over and, almost immediately, all the jabbering stopped as if turned off by a switch. Only when the falcon was good and gone, did it pick up again. Normally, this blackbird confabulation would result in a few birds hitching their way up the reeds and then, little by little, smaller and larger groups would begin leaving, culminating in a major exodus that would empty out the roost. As I was waiting and watching, a few birds popped out and flew around a bit -- scouts perhaps? -- but apparently they didn't like what they saw as most of them flew right back in. Gradually the noise died down and I fully expected the whole mass of birds to exit at any moment. But it didn't happen -- not at least on my watch. Eventually I just gave up, left the marsh and resumed my rounds. Sooner or later these birds must have flown out to look for something to eat but apparently their decision-making process was deadlocked early in the morning.

Did I suggest in a recent post that the Osprey migration had fallen off? Well yesterday there were as many as 7 or 8 birds flying over the creek or sitting on branches or tree stubs opposite. They were catching fish too with as many as four Osprey tearing into their catch of the day at any given time; other birds were seen flying with a glint of silver reflected from the sea creature caught in their talons -- on their way, one presumes, to find a place to dine on their take-out repast. And while I was Osprey-watching, a Peregrine Falcon popped out of the Pine Neck woods and worked its way across the mouth of the creek and across our marsh eventually disappearing over the trees.

Also of note from yesterday were two sparrows sitting in the dead cedar on the far side of our pond. Unlike the common Song Sparrows and the now widespread Swamp Sparrows, these were small, flat-headed, Ammodramus-type sparrows. Since they were seen only in silhouette and I couldn't see any of other field marks, I can't completely rule out competing possibilities but the odds are very good that they were Grasshopper Sparrows, a bird I have seen here in migration only once before: in mid-October, 2007.

Eric Salzman