midsummer visitors

What did I say about the overdue Northern Waterthrush the other day? Well he's here. Or she. Or they. There was one at the head of the marsh that was chipping away so loudly that I knew what it was immediately. And, typically for a Waterthrush, it jumped right out when I started pishing, landed on a branch only a few feet over my head and then continued to circle around me, calling all the while and providing great views of this distinguished warbler. There was also at least one House Wren, a couple of juvenile Common Yellowthroats, and several Carolina Wrens as well as some Chickadees and Titmice in the neighborhood. Another N. Waterthrush was near the pond, also advertising himself by his chipping.

A few Royal Terns were flying up and down the creek. As usual, there was an adult with its typical Royal Tern finger-across-the-comb call followed close behind by an immature making its own distinctive higher-pitched sound. A Screech Owl was calling in the night with a long series of downward rippling calls. This owl has bred here in the past but currently is most likely to put in its appearance sometime in July or August.

Most of these birds are typical of midsummer in these hereabouts. Down at the shore, migration is clearly underway with swallows and shorebirds moving steadily in groups along the dunes and shoreline, all traveling in the same direction -- to the southwest. But the Royal Terns, Northern Waterthrush, Spotted Sandpiper and Screech Owl that typically arrive here in July will stay for much of the summer (and even into the fall). While I don't know for sure that these are always the same individuals, the pattern of arrival is distinct and predictable: they move in after breeding, often with their young in tow, for an extended stay before they continue further south on their migratory journeys. If the climate continues to warm, I suspect that they may linger into the winter as well.

Eric Salzman