two good birds (a big one and a little one)

The migration wave that was supposed to hit our shores yesterday (and didn't -- at least not at Montauk or East Quogue) arrived here this morning. It wasn't huge but the birds were mostly new for the season and they were clustered between the marsh and the east-facing woods -- the usual landing spot for incoming passerines. This small flight included some of the notable birds of autumn: Yellow-rumped Warbler, Western Palm Warbler (the brown version not the Yellow Palm previously seen), Common Yellowthroats (missing for the past few days so these were probably new arrivals), immature Eastern Phoebes (earlier Phoebes were adults) and Swamp Sparrows.

There were also two really first-class birds, a big one and a little charmer. The most stunning sight of the morning was the silhouette -- outlined against the rising sun -- of what could have only been an eagle being chased down the creek by an Osprey. Now the Osprey is a pretty big bird but it looked puny next to the eagle! The bigger bird wheeled at the tip of Pine Neck and disappeared around the corner. It ended up sitting on the now empty Pine Neck Osprey nest where it Bald Eagleness was clearly in evidence for the rest of the morning and well into the afternoon. Do Bald Eagles commandeer old Osprey nests for their own purposes?

The other bird was a Philadelphia Vireo in its attractive fall plumage -- bright yellow on the undertail coverts and very bright yellow on the throat and breast, fading out on the belly. It had the typical vireo white eyebrow beneath a gray cap shading off to olive-gray on the back with just a trace of a wingbar. I'm not sure if this bird came in on the morning flight or not; I found it later in the day when it was moving through the woods with a small flock of B-c Chickadees and feeding vigorous in the oaks and hickories. It's not a bird I see very often; the last one I saw here was nine years ago almost to the day (September 26, 2003).

Eric Salzman