first and lasts

Clear blue-sky morning with slowly increasing wind and cooling temperatures.

If yesterday's lead vocalist, the Brown Thrasher, is our #1 singer (at least according to some calculations), this morning's soloist would have to rate pretty far down near the bottom. 'Tschup-zee' or 'Chick-a-zee' repeated over and over again from somewhere in the phragmites on the opposite side of the marsh was the whole of it. This would have to be one of the less endowed sparrows (I actually thought of Henslow's or Nelson's Sparrow, both poor singers, but neither one is much inclined to sing on Long Island where they do not breed). The tide was low and I was able to got close enough to make out a big handsome dull gray Seaside Sparrow proudly flashing his yellow supraloral and his white throat and malar as if in accompaniment to a prodigious musical effort. On spotting me, he dropped down into the reeds but shortly reappeared not far away with a recap of his shattering chorus of 'Tschup-zee'. If not a First in Musical Prowess, definitely a First-of-the-Year for a bird that's hard enough to find in his breeding marshes on the opposite side of the bay.

And then, for a change of pace, there was a truly elegant song from high in a tree at the edge of the marsh; it was an Orchard Oriole, one of the most melodious of our singers, announcing his seasonal arrival. Other new birds of marsh and creek included a distant Least Tern and several peep flushed out of the marsh grass (probably Least Sandpipers; I was too intent on the sparrow to pay much attention). Also two yellowlegs at the mouth of the creek, a late great Great Blue Heron (should be up north by now) and a Snowy Egret (surprisingly uncommon as it loses ground to the Great Egret in the local nesting colonies).

As it was still early, I again drove through the Pine Barrens -- this time to try the Bald Hill Trail. This is a relatively short walk in the woods; before the turn-off to Bald Hill (which is not bald anymore and has lost its views), the main trail goes down into a wet area that is good for both breeders and migrants. The outstanding song here was a buzzy repeated treetop melody which I tried, without success, to pin on some warbler or other; I never did see the bird but I finally realized that it was a Warbling Vireo, a bird that I did not expect to find deep in the woods. More easily on view were the season's first Veery (calling but not yet singing), the season's first Common Yellowthroat (singing) and a striking Scarlet Tanager that was not scarlet but a flaming orange!

Most of the common pine barrens birds were there too including Great Crested Flycatcher, Ovenbird, Pine Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, and Baltimore Oriole. Plus my candidate for the most beautiful singer of all: the pine barrens Hermit Thrush. I never saw this one but the glorious song came echoing through the woods and made me happy to know that he is still around.

Eric Salzman