a clutch and a cudgel

The weather patterns looked so promising yesterday that the SOFO top brass organized a trip to Montauk this morning to watch the migrants coming in. I  seriously considered going along but eventually decided not to go (it would have meant getting up at 5 am and we were out last night). In any case, if there was going to be a wave of migrants coming into Long Island, I wanted to be able to see it right here on Weesuck Creek in East Quogue.

Except there wasn't any. No wave at all. Lots of finches and Song Sparrows in the upper parts of the marsh, an American Redstart, a couple of Red-eyed Vireos, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, lots of Red-breasted Nuthatches and a few White-breasted -- but they've all been here regularly in the past week or two.

I did find a clutch of crows down by the pond acting as though they were looking for trouble. They seem to like to gather there and I notice that there are holes in the pine duff, possibly made by the crows. I suspect the crows (and not Flickers which also make holes in the ground to find ants) are responsible and they often leave other traces of their presence behind. One of the crows had a small piece of vegetation in its beak and was flying around as though challenging the other crows to take it from him (or her). Another crow had a wooden stick with which it was apparently playing; it would hold it down with its talons against the branch on which it was standing and peck at it with its beak. Was there something to eat on this stick? Not likely. He (or she) would then pick it up in triumph in its beak, holding it straight out (not crosswise) by the knobby handle which he had seemingly created. A crow cudgel? Perhaps, but when the rest of the gang flew off, he dropped it and flew with the crowd. These crows are like a gang of teen-agers and they don't seem to be doing anything useful at all, just hanging out and playing games.

Eric Salzman