rattle battle

Oh what a beautiful morning! A Wilson's Warbler made an appearance; this little yellow warbler with a black cap has been getting scarcer and scarcer so its visit was a highlight. The only other warblers seen were familiar ones: Common Yellowthroat and American Redstart. Eastern Phoebe was not new (it breeds around here and the adult birds have already been on the move) but this was a handsome young bird with a yellow wash all over its belly. Many Blue Jays as well as small flocks of Northern Flickers, Cedar Waxwings, American Robins, Black-capped Chickadees, House Finches and American Goldfinches, all with mixtures of adult and young birds.

The Belted Kingfishers are still here, their battles apparently undecided. At least one of them has been hanging out in the woods back towards the house keeping up a soft rattle. But when a Great Egret came by, the Kingfisher took off after the egret which actually had to make an avoidance move in the air to keep from being hit. Almost immediately, the second Kingfisher appeared and, after a bit of aerial action, the two disappeared into the woods and went back to low level rattling. If this is indeed a rattle battle between two males, they seem to be at a kind of stalemate, neither one being able to chase the other.

One raptor, a Merlin, came over the creek and disappeared into the trees. The Kingfishers, so anxious to chase the egret, did not try anything with the Merlin!

Eric Salzman