last day before Ecuador

This morning was pretty much the same as yesterday with lots of Catbirds at the head of the marsh along with Flickers and Red-bellied Woodpeckers (both eating Tupelo berries; the black-and-white woodpeckers were busy woodpecking elsewhere), both wrens, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Common Yellowthroats (many) and Black-and-white Warbler. Also an empidonax flycatcher (too brief a look for any ID) and a stream of swallows high overhead (mostly Tree but also some Barns mixed in; couldn't ID anything else). Two Red-tailed Hawks -- but no Bald Eagles. One 'new' bird: a Parula Warbler high in the trees around the head of the marsh.

This blog will be quiet for the next two weeks as we'll be in Ecuador, a country we haven't visited since one of our first trips abroad way back when. Famously, when we visited Mindo -- a mountain town in the middle of the Choco cloud forest -- we stayed in a rather run-down place on the main square (it was called a Residencia not a hotel or lodge). The way you turned on the light was to hook two bare wires together! Ah, those were the days! Nowadays, Mindo is a bit of an eco-tourist center but apparently the birds are just as good. I will file a report on my return.

Eric Salzman

good timing

At a little after noon today, I happened to wander down to the pond at the precise moment that a Bald Eagle happened to come soaring overhead. This was an adult bird show his white head and tail in strong sunlight. Of course, I dashed back to the house to alert everyone but by the time we all got back down, the eagle had vanished. Two other raptors on the move were Osprey and Red-tailed Hawk.

There were dozens and dozens of Catbirds in the thickets around the head of the marsh early this morning -- yesterday's birds now augmented by new arrivals, all presumably feeding on the feast of berries that have ripened in the vicinity. Other birds participating (and perhaps also recent arrivals) were Northern Flickers, American Goldfinches and several wrens of the two local species. Among the certain migrants were Eastern Phoebe, Red-eyed Vireo and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Only two warblers: Common Yellowthroat and Black-and-white.

Eric Salzman

berries for birds

Some of our local breeding birds are also migrants and their presence in numbers in the past few days suggests that many of them are drop-ins: Gray Catbirds, American Robins and Northern Flickers (the only local breeding woodpecker that is also a migrant) have gathered in a Sandy-impacted area near the head of the marsh where there are a lot of berries: Tupelo, Poison Ivy and Pokeweed. Also frequenting the area: the other three woodpeckers, both wrens and an occasional warbler.

The only other active migrants that appeared after last night's and this morning's rains were high-flying swallows -- all Tree Swallows I think -- and a rather striking empidonax. The empid was a Traill's-type flycatcher -- a juvenile Willow or Alder: small billed, short primary projection, quite yellowish underneath, tail-flipping (mostly on landing), rather grayish-olive, no trace of an eye-ring, quite a noticeable crest that flared up a couple of times. 

Eric Salzman

an accipter and a lot of flowers

The accipter that came streaking across the head of the marsh was just about the right size for a Sharp-shinned Hawk but when it landed in a bare tree I could see that it was a handsome adult with a red-streaked breast, capped look and a pale nape -- most probably a Cooper's Hawk male. The males, as with most raptors, are a good size smaller than the females so that the Cooper's Hawk male is just a bit bigger than a Sharp-shinned female.

I found a few Clematis flowers blooming from a previously unnoticed bit of vine. This is, of course, the time of year for the outbreak of that prolific four-petalled flowering vine that covers whole patches of the wayside (but this is the first time that I've found on the property). Also blooming right now throughout the open hurricane-struck woods is one of the purple/pink smartweeds. Two rather odd climbing vines are the parasitic Dodder (with orange stems and waxy white flowers) and something that I have identified as Climbing False Buckwheat (with greenish winged flowers and fruits).

The Seaside Goldenrod is coming into full bloom, creating a striking show of yellow down by the wetlands. As I have mentioned on other occasions, there is no connection between any of the goldenrods and hayfever. Ragweed, an unobtrusive greenish plant, starts pollinating at the same time that the goldenrods burst into golden visibility thereby creating this false association. Ragweed pollen is windblown and is therefore pervasive in the atmosphere at this time of year (ah-choo!). Goldenrod is insect pollinated as its attractive colors should tell us.

Eric Salzman

a raptor, a warbler and a couple of wildflowers

This morning's Murder of Crows took place in the trees facing the creek and I was able to get down there in time to see that it was really about a raptor -- to be specific, a Red-tailed Hawk that high-tailed it across the creek with the crows in hot pursuit. I still think that some of these crow brouhahas are crow society intersocial squabbles but it is possible that I am just missing the object of the vituperation.

This morning's big catch was an FOS (First of Season): a Nashville Warbler -- gray head, eye ring, yellow underneath (brightest on the throat and undertail). A few other warblers around (American Redstart, Common Yellowthroat); also an American Goldfinch family (male still in breeding plumage, female and two youngsters). A male Belted Kingfisher has been a regular visitor to the pond along with a couple of young Green Herons and at least one Great Blue Heron.

Speaking of yellow, the Seaside Goldenrod is just beginning to bloom. Another noteworthy wildflower is the plant that I have been calling Pearly Everlasting with teardrop-shaped white flowers made up of petal-like bracts with a touch of yellow at the tip. I now think this imay not be the Pearly Everlasting but a similar plant called Sweet Everlasting or Catfoot. Both are composites but they are in different genera although you would not suspect it from appearances.

Eric Salzman

on top of the Harbor Hills Moraine

The Harbor Hills Moraine constitutes the North Shore of LI extending from Western LI all the way out on the North Fork; it's one of the two glacial moraines that forms the backbones of Long Island and it resurfaces on the coast of Rhode Island and on Cape Cod and adjacent islands. The Long Island hills formed by this moraine are a rich habitat but not one with which I have very much familiarity although I have visited a few areas including the North Fork Preserve in Northville. Yesterday I was at a nearby place that was situated on one of the highest points of the moraine and, although surrounded with dense vegetation, afforded some glimpses of LI Sound and even the Connecticut shore. Even with yesterday's strong winds, I was hoping to be able to observe some migration from this vantage point and indeed there was a continuous stream of fast-moving flocks shooting across -- two to four dozen birds at a time! The trouble was that, as far as I could observe, they were all made up of blackbirds  -- Red-wings, Common Grackles and Starlings -- and they were all moving in the wrong direction: east or east/northeast, every single one! The only birds that seemed to be doing it right were a few Am Robins and two Turkey Vultures. The latter were moving west/southwest, gliding moderately high over the hills but in a very odd fashion; they were facing north into the wind and were therefore soaring -- quite successfully I may add -- sideways!

There were some other notable migrants however: two or three Monarch Butterflies. Monarchs have been very scarce on the South Shore this year nor has there been any big influx of migrating butterflies of any species this year. However, in the past week or so, there have been quite a few local species flying including several of the swallowtails (Tiger, Spicebush, Black), American Copper, a few Nymphs and Satyrs (Common Wood-Nymph and Litte Wood-Satyr) and some unidentified Hairstreaks and several different (equally unidentified) Skippers. Ditto with the dragonflies -- no big influx of migrants but some numbers of apparently local species, most of which I have yet to identify.

Eric Salzman

Waterthrushes, dead & alive

I found a dead Northern Waterthrush on the one of the trails yesterday morning -- quite a ways back from the water. It showed no sign of what killed it but, although it was a fresh specimen and in quite good shape, the eyes were gone and you could see right through the eyehole. This species is actually called the New York waterthrush (Parkesia or Seiurus noveboracensis) although the more common breeding waterthrush in New York is actually the Louisiana. Northern is a very common migrant and appears here on Eastern Long Island as early as mid-July (finding Louisiana, a bird that prefers rushing streams, is a much tougher exercise; I've never seen it on the property and only rarely in our area).

The regular warblers have been present yesterday and today (Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart, Black-and-white Warbler) and two Yellows, an adult and a young one, were working along the marsh edge early in the morning. Eastern Phoebe and all the woodpeckers have been prominent. Cardinals and Carolina Wrens, both especially numerous and very contentious, appear to be eating Pokeweed berries. The Catbirds prefer the berries of the Tupelo trees -- where available (not all the hard-hit Tupelos fruited this year).

A correction from a recent post: The Latin name for the Parasol Mushroom is Lepiota procera and not Lepiota rhacodes. As a couple of correspondents have pointed out, L. radoces is the so-called Shaggy Parasol which is classified as a separate species.

On the question of whether birds can be fooled, Jean Held suggests that the chickadees that I thought were pursuing a non-existant owl might have been stirred into action by a snake. She also suggests that these exercises might be teaching assignments for young chickadees to learn about the dangers of predators! Carl Safina also suggested that some of the chickadee or crow rackets might have been stimulated by Blue Jays imitating hawks calls (which Blue Jays are known to do). However at least one of the screaming Red-tails was actually seen; it was a big buteo hawk and not a pretend Blue Jay.

Eric Salzman

Hairy Woodpeckers galore

I can go outside any time of the day and walk to any place on the property and I will hear Hairy Woodpeckers working away on the traces of Sandy. I could guess that there are at least 5 or 6 different birds working in different areas but it is difficult to be sure. They much prefer the pines, dead or alive; the clues to their presence are  a steady tap-tap-tap with punctuation in the form of sharp single-note calls and lots of flying bark. They are often accompanied by Downy Woodpeckers who provide nothing quite so dramatic and often take the thinner branches or even hanging vines as their objective. Downies are the regular local black-and-white carpenter bird; the arrival of the Hairies this summer -- due no doubt to the large amount of woodpecker wood created by recent hurricanes -- has been the new feature.

Regular nightly visits from the Screech Owl but few daytime migrants of any sort. I get the impression that the change in weather moved more birds out than in (one lone Red-eyed Vireo was an exception).

With regard to the question of whether birds can be fooled into thinking there are raptors around when there are none, I've had several reactions. Jean Held suggests that the angry Chickadees might have been upset about a difficult-to-find snake rather than an easier-to-locate perched Screech Owl. She also suggests that the birds might indulge in such exercises as a way of training a new generation about how to deal with danger! Carl Safina suggests that someone (me? the crows?) might be fooled by Blue Jays imitating the call of a Red-tailed Hawk or some other raptor. On the other hand, there are certainly raptors already on the move; I've already seen Red-tailed Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, at least one falcon (probably a Merlin) and Osprey on the move. All potential targets for angry crows and jays.

Eric Salzman

a migrant mushroom and an FOS bird

I thought that Tuesday's thunderstorms followed by yesterday's change of weather would bring in migrants but the only immediately noticeable effect was the appearance -- in a major fruiting -- of a mysterious mushroom that sprouted up in dense clusters on a dirt pile just inside the woods and only a short distance from the house. Co-credit for this mushroom has to go to Sandy as this dirt pile was in fact part of the debris deposited on our front meadow during last fall's storm and cleared off into half-hidden dirt piles! The mushroom, with its buttony cap, white spores and ring, had a familiar look but I couldn't place it. It first showed up a week ago or so -- also after thunderstorms -- at the same time as the Honey Mushrooms (Armillaria mellea) appeared. After deciding that it wasn't a Honey Mushroom or even a close relative, I tossed it out. Yesterday morning it reappeared in even more dense clusters and this time I decided to try and track it down. The reddish brown cap with scales (staining my hands), a touch of yellow turning reddish on the gills or where it was bruised, the club-shaped slightly woody stem were all clues as was the dirt-pile habitat. One of the most popular edible mushrooms is the Parasol or Lepiota rhacodes but we always complain that we find just one Lepiota at a time. Well, this mushroom turned out to be Lepiota americana, a relative of the Parasol but in clumps of hundreds! Although these mushrooms appeared to be dirty, the dirt (which discolored my fingers) turned out to be mostly the brownish-red scales and they were not that difficult to clean. I grilled a few of the larger caps and we tasted them cautiously just to make sure there was no mistake. It turns out that this is one of our best edibles. Thank you, Sandy!

I didn't find any migrants yesterday but I actually didn't have much time to look. This morning's walk was more leisurely and featured a few migrants, most notably a flock of 14 or 15 birds that flew in over the marsh announcing themselves with their characteristic flight call: pink-pink-pink, pink-pink-pink. Then, to make sure there was no mistake, they perched and posed prettily on the Phragmites. BOBOLINKS! These were all in the non-breeding plumage: stripy on the back, very yellowish on the breast, reddish bill, black cap, blank face -- said to be sparrowy but big and yellow and more like a European bunting than one of our sparrows.

Raptors are also on the move. This morning's hawk was a Sharp-shinned which was first chased by a Crow and then turned around and took after the Crow -- affording a useful size comparison. Lots of Gray Catbirds and Common Yellowthroats suggesting that these birds are also on the move. All four woodpeckers again along with White-breasted Nuthatch (an honorary woodpecker), another legacy of Sandy.

Eric Salzman

do birds get fooled?

Are birds sometimes fooled into thinking that a dangerous raptor is in the neighborhood when there are none around? A couple of days ago, a bunch of Chickadees in a very agitated buzzing flocking mode -- more like a cloud of angry bees than a mild-mannered flock of birds -- gathered around the old apple tree just out our back door. In addition to its own rather thick foliage, this tree is covered with ivy making for some dense cover and I was certain that a Screech Owl was hiding in there. But try as I might, I could not find any hidden raptor. Even as I searched from every angle, the birds kept up their angry attack. On what? On a gnarled bit of trunk that might have looked like an owl to a misguided chickadee?

Yesterday, the crows were in a similar but much louder state of annoyance and anger -- a regular murder of crows attacking some visiting raptor, no doubt. Except that I could not for the life of me find the object of their ire and, as I approached the wrathful gathering, they simply flew away. Do crows carry on like this among themselves?

This morning, before the thunderstorms hit, the entire landscape was covered by a fog so thick that the opposite side of the creek was invisible and the trees at the far end of the marsh were mere ghostly outlines. Birds were not easy to identify in this light but I was able to pick out an American Redstart by its yellow tail flashes; also Common Yellowthroat, Black-and-white Warbler, House Wren and few others. A smallish flycatcher was more difficult; it seemed a bit bigger than an empid and it didn't wag its tail so I would guess that it was an Eastern Wood-pewee.

One other bird, unseen at first in the fog, was self-identified when it screamed its signature scream -- not once but twice. Perhaps this Red-tailed Hawk was the object of yesterday's crow attacks.

Eric Salzman

Red-eyed Vireos, a falcon and piscivorous birds

A few new birds came in this morning -- notably Red-eyed Vireos (first of season around here, I believe) and a few more American Redstarts (all females and 1st year males). Also around: Ruby-throated Hummingbird, White-breasted Nuthatch, Hairy (as well as Downy and Red-bellied) Woodpeckers, Common Yellowthroat, Black-and-white Warblers. Looked for the Olive-sided Flycatcher but didn't find  it. There are ten species of flycatchers in northeastern North America that show up here regularly as breeders or migrants (plus two or three others that are vagrants from afar); we've had seven or eight of them so far this year.

A smallish falcon was zipping around Pine Neck hugging the tree tops and roiling up the Crows. From its flight pattern and silhouette and the habitat, I would say that it was a Merlin rather than a Kestrel (Merlins like woodlands more than Kestrels and I often see them at this time of year).

Royal Terns remain active on the creek along with a few Common Terns, Belted Kingfisher, several Osprey and Double-crested Cormorants. And my daughters and granddaughter have been catching snappers (baby Bluefish) at the Town Dock. So, in spite of all the problems with Shinnecock Bay (absence of Shiners, for instance), there are some fish around.

Eric Salzman