A blizzard of Yellow-throats

As I walked down to the pond this morning, a big raptor sprung from the trees and, after circling a bit took off for the other side of the creek. It had the silhouette of a Buteo, probably a Red-tailed Hawk (I couldn't see any stripes on the tail). In the marsh, I popped a medium-sized dark rail with a long bill right up from at my feet; only Virginia Rail fits the bill. Dawn brought a torrent, a veritable blizzard of Yellow-rumped Warblers -- hundreds, perhaps even thousands of birds everywhere. There were a few Robins, a few Flickers and some sparrows (Song, Swamp and White-throat). Otherwise, Yellow-rumps, Yellow-rumps and Yellow-rumps. I could not, hard as I tried, pick out a single other warbler or vireo from the flocks.

A White-breasted Nuthatch was calling somewhere and a small overhead flock of flying finches with a buzzy call were probably Pine Siskins. Back at the pond, a single Greater Yellowlegs was taking in the morning sun on the fallen log at the mouth of the pond when it suddenly jumped up in the air with loud cries; it was being pursued by an accipiter that had appeared out of nowhere. The Yellowlegs zipped out over the creek and outpaced its pursuer which wheeled around and returned to our side of the creek, landing in a grove of Pitch Pines. When it flew out a few minutes I had a good look at it crossing the creek and decided that it was a immature male Cooper's with a long rounded tail, projecting head and extensive white undertail coverts that puffed out at the base of the tail.

Eric Salzman