Yes, the Willet was there too. Also a Green Heron -- much more shy than the other waders -- was hiding in the trees at the edge of the marsh; it was, I think, being harassed by crows. The crows were very nervous this morning and one of them in particular was raising up quite a racket. Curious to see what the trouble was, I tracked her down only to realize that he (or she) was in fact tracking me! I was the intruder she was yelling about. The explanation was almost certainly that there was a newly fledged young crow in the area and I realized that I could make out its calls quite clearly.
It's often said that the calls of a young crow and the calls of the Fish Crow can be confused but when you hear them at the same time, as I did this morning, the differences are quite clear. The Fish Crow calls were isolated repeated nasal notes in a steady pattern while the young crow's calls were much more random and varied.
Among the morning's return visitors: Great Crested Flycatcher and Pine Warbler, two species that have, I believe, a wide circular range that includes our woodlands. Also Red-eyed Vireo and Common Yellowthroat. The Brown Thrasher, who sang all yesterday afternoon, did not reappear.
A House Finch sings regularly at the foot of Weesuck Avenue (just off our property); this is a species that was formerly much more common but was apparently decimated by an epidemic; it may now be making a comeback. And, though I don't like to admit it, the dreaded Cowbird -- a species that parasitizes other birds by laying its eggs in their nest (with the result that they raise Cowbirds rather than their own young) -- is also in the neighborhood.
Two more (and better) pictures of the Big-leaf Magnolia, Magnolia macrophylla, in bloom.
Eric Salzman
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