gloom relief

Another gloomy morning (overcast, dank and drizzly) was relieved by a burst of sound and color in the treetops. I heard the repeated 'chick-burr' from the first moment I stepped outside and then the buzzy robin-with-a-cold song, over and over again. The Scarlet Tanager is, without a doubt, our most striking avian resident and to watch it flit from branch to branch, its burning colors cutting through the morning fog is surely one of the highs of birding. The bird started out literally high, high in the budding oaks and hickories; it eventually came down to apple tree level only a few feet above my head providing what I can only describe as optimum views. Scarlet Tanager breeds north of here but, unless we organize a trek in the woods, we only see it down here in migration.

Another colorful new arrival: Yellow Warbler, also singing away and showing its plumage -- a bright yellow substitute for sunshine -- to good advantage.

Out on the marsh, the tide was low but still showing the traces of a high tide. A strong clicking sound riding on the wind (noticeably shifted from the northeast to the southwest) drew me out to find the source of the sound. It was, as I suspected, a Clapper Rail and it was accompanied by a Spotted Sandpiper and two or three yellowlegs -- all Greater, I believe. Well worth two wet feet.

Other observations: first noted Flickers of the season as well as Gray Catbirds in several locations (at least one singing bird) and Eastern Phoebe hunting insects close to the ground

Eric Salzman