avian wannabes and a tail tale

A post-breeding parade of avian wannabes is in progress with the arrival of singing birds belonging to species that normally breed in the upland woods (the oaky part of the Pine Barrens) but not down here by the shore. A few days ago it was a Scarlet Tanager. Yesterday we had a Red-eyed Vireo singing all morning. Today's entrant was an Eastern Wood-pewee who was Pee-a-weeing with all his might as he darted from branch to branch high in the canopy of the trees just back of the house, incessantly broadcasting his tune for the first hour or two of the day as he hunted for his extended breakfast.

A little later in the morning, I took off for Calverton with the aim of scouting out the scene there for my Linnaean walk this Saturday. It begins at 8 am at Shinnecock Inlet and will spend the morning working west on Dune Road all the way to Pike's Beach and Cupsogue; however in the afternoon, I plan to go upland to look for grassland and savannah birds and ex-Grumman at Calverton and some nearby fields seemed like good possibilities -- provided they were accessible. The runway grasslands -- the last major grassland habitat left on Long Island and one of most important of its kind in the northeast -- have breeding Grasshopper Sparrow and Eastern Meadowlark, both of which I saw and heard this morning along with some other birds of note.

Equally rewarding was a nearby field that had recently been cleared but is still good for birds of open habitat. Almost immediately on my arrival, a fair-sized brown bird -- with a large head, a bit of a crest, a longish, rounded, twitchy tail and distinct wingbars -- appeared for a moment on the top of a nearby bush, completely out in the open. This was a new one on me and I was completely stumped until, as it flew off, I noticed the big bill. It was the best view I have ever had of a female Blue Grosbeak. Shortly thereafter, in almost the same spot. a densely blue bird with a conical bill appeared. The male! Yes, but not a grosbeak male; it was an Indigo Bunting!

There was an amusing footnote to this. I checked out Blue Grosbeak in my two favorite reference books: Big Sibley and Pete Dunne. Sibley says the Blue Grosbeak has a long tail. Pete Dunne notes the crest and the tail pump but calls the tail 'short' with a 'bulbous' tip!

Eric Salzman