the small and the ginormous

A beautiful dry morning (some dew but low humidity) with interesting birds. The shrub edge and tree line beyond -- at this time of year this is the first place that passerines hit on their arrival -- had a few warblers: at least two or three Yellows and a lively little bird that I couldn't at first identify. A young warbler, no doubt, but the young of what species? It was quite white on the breast with pale yellow at the sides and under the tail; grayish on top with a not-so-tiny bill and a large white somewhat plumage patch almost all the way around the eye -- not exactly an eye ring but an irregular ring around the eye. Of course it wasn't a warbler at all but rather a Warbling Vireo with what Sibley calls a "blank-faced" look. Some Warbling Vireos seem to have a clear white eye-stripe that is wider behind the eye than in front and a white area below the eye with a noticeable thin darkish line 'through the eye'. But this one had almost no dark line -- perhaps a faint line behind the eye but nothing but white in front (i.e. white lores) creating the effect of a large white patch in the middle of the face. Who says the Warbling Vireo has no field marks?

A Spotted Sandpiper is hanging around the pond -- the first I've seen here this season. Even more surprising was a 'flock' of five Great Blue Herons soaring low over the marsh and into the trees. These birds eventually landed in the crown of an emergent oak quite far from the water. In spite of the incredible and slightly grotesque sight of five ginormous (my granddaughter's favorite word) prehistoric-looking birds teetering precariously on the topmost branches of a swaying tree, I might never have even noticed them if one of them hadn't snorted a Great Blue Snort as I walked by underneath. Startled to hear this sound relatively far from the water, I looked up and caught the astounding sight. Alas, almost as soon as I stopped to gawk, they took off, one by one, without a another squawk -- in silence and with great blue dignity.

Eric Salzman