out of the north

Eileen Schwinn came over this morning to help try and relocate some of yesterday's good birds (or find some new ones). The change in weather with strong, warm southwest winds was not promising. No Bald Eagles and no signs of a morning flight at all; in fact the first run along the edge of the marsh and the woods was extremely quiet. Further on, at the head of the marsh and beyond there were a few Am Goldfinches and Catbirds feeding on the Porcelain Berries which have spread all over the place in the wake of last fall's hurricane. And that was it . . . except that, all of a sudden, not one but two Brown Creepers appeared, the first of the season!

Nor was that the end of it. On the path to the water on the north side of the property, a stocky pewee type flycatcher was fly catching from a perch at the tip of a dead pine above the canopy. This bird, with its striking dark open vest, large size, short tail, heavy build, and large eye, was an Olive-sided Flycatcher, the northernmost of the widespread pewees (the alternate name for this bird is Boreal Pewee). I didn't see any sign of the white tufts that it sometimes shows but these are often hidden. I thought that this was a new bird for the place but I found a record of a spring migrant here in May, 2007. I'll settle for a first fall record.

We also refound the Philadelphia Vireo which was hanging with two Red-eyed Vireos in or near what appeared to be the same Chickadee flock. While the Chickadees and Red-breasted Nuthatches mainly work the pines and cedars, the vireos (both flavors) stick to the oaks and hickories (as does the White-breasted Nuthatch, also present). We did eventually lose the Philadelphia Vireo however and, when Mike Higgiston arrived to look for it, it was nowhere to be seen. By the way, just as the Olive-sided is the northernmost pewee, the Philadelphia is the northernmost vireo; not surprisingly, both are champion migrators!

Eric Salzman