hurricane effects are still with us

A couple of birds appeared yesterday afternoon that were not noted in yesterday's post. One was a medium-sized juvenile accipiter active by the shore near the mouth of the pond and seen perched on a bare Pitch Pine branch for some time. Although I first thought it might be a Sharp-shinned Hawk, I finally decided that it was a male Cooper's, mainly because of the large, flat-topped head (it even seemed to show a short crest behind the flat top). The tail was somewhat rounded but with only rather narrow white tips. There were two calling flycatchers: a Great Crested Flycatcher that made a continuing series of 'wheeps' and an Eastern Wood-Pewee uttering a short version of its typical call, repeating it over and over again as it flitted and hunted from one tree top to another.

This morning was disappointing. There was one small flock of Chickadees and Titmice, accompanied by a Pewee, some American Redstarts (including at least one breeding-plumaged male) and the other usual camp followers (Downy Woodpecker, Am Robin, etc.). A couple of Common Yellowthroats were seen; these birds have been anything but common since Irene.

Eileen Schwinn came over to look for birds; instead she mostly got to see the effects of Hurricane Irene on the local landscope. It is interesting to see which plants faced the storm and survived and which did not. The Red Cedars and Pitch Pines fared quite well if they did not actually tip over (even some of the tipped over trees are seemingly still alive). Most of the oaks at the edge lost all their leaves and shut down for the winter (if they didn't actually die). Tupelos, Basswood (Linden) and Hickories fared a little better but still lost most of their leaves; we'll find out about their long-range health only next spring. Many of the vines -- notably Poison Ivy and Bittersweet -- lost all their leaves exposing their berries. In general, most of the understory plants that were in the flood zone were wiped out but many of the Seaside Goldenrod plants survived and, although battered down, are down struggling to right themselves; amazingly, many of these plants have flower buds and are about to blossom. A more delicate species of goldenrod that is all through the woods is, in fact, flowering right now. Also, the Marsh Asters have flowered, starting right after the hurricane and a few Golden Asters are blossoming as well.

Eric Salzman