June bug blues?

The hot weather may be uncomfortable for some but insects and reptiles and many of the birds seem to relish it. Spicebush Swallows and Pearl Crescents have appeared along with some of the skippers. The Silver-spotted Skipper on the marsh edge is the easiest but most of the others are maddeningly unidentifiable (Delaware Skipper perhaps; in the grass outside the house). Common Green Darner has appeared with Seaside Dragonlet in the marsh along with those stocky medium-sized dark reddish-brown dragonflies that refuse to perch (a feature that might constitute a field mark; they could be Spot-winged Gliders which are known for their propensity to stay in the air). Box Turtles are active and a Ribbon or Garter Snake type put in a brief appearance. And it's not too early for June bugs (which are traditionally more like July bugs in this neck of the woods).

Yesterday's Red-eyed Vireo sang non-stop (with pauses between choruses but otherwise in a continuous series of vireo question-and-answer phrases) right up until the early evening when I went out. The bird seem to be with a troupe of Black-capped Chickadees that were working the oaks and hickories all around. There are Carolina Wren young out of the nest -- this may be a second brood -- and, by and large, the males have stopped singing. I hear only an occasional burst of the usual loud stereotypical Carolina triplets but also a kind of oddball variation in which the song keeps changing. My guess is that this oddball song is used by unattached males trying to attract a female or secure a territory while the stereotypical triplets come from a territorial male with a mate.

An immature Yellow-crowned Night-Heron was on the pond edge at low tide. This appears to be a second-year bird, class of 2011, but it still supports the idea that Yellow-crowns are nesting somewhere in the vicinity. Green Herons have been active; they definitely nest in the area, maybe even in our own home woods.

Eric Salzman