mystery flycatcher and bodacious blackbirds

There's a somewhat mysterious flycatcher hanging around at the edge of the woods facing the pond and marsh, generally remaining quite high in dead branches. This bird should be an Eastern Phoebe but its head is not particularly dark and it doesn't seem to wag its tail very much -- if at all. There's no particular breast markings that I can see nor is the breast at all yellowish or cream colored as one often sees on juvenile Eastern Phoebes. Size and the lack of wing bars seem to preclude pewees or empids. So, going on the general structure -- big head, bull neck, long dark tail -- and adding in the likely odds, it would have to be an Eastern Phoebe.

Two Yellow Warblers are still covering the lower parts of the woodland edge and the peep-peep-peep of the Spotted Sandpiper can still be heard from the pond and marsh edges.

A male and a female Red-winged Blackbird attacked me as I made my way around the marsh edge. They came swooping down at the intruder (me), pulling up just short of hitting and making a startling noise as they veered off -- quite a striking display. Two other birds hanging back in dead branches were likely young of the year which would account for this highly aggressive behavior. I've had male Red-wings defending territory in the past but this was the first time that I have had both sexes on the attack.

Eric Salzman