two days

Monday, May 9:

Kingfisher in the dead pine overlooking the pond took off with a loud rattle as I approached the tree first thing in the moorning. A pair of Barn Swallows were over the marsh along with half a dozen Purple Martins, also hunting over the marsh (when not investigating or squabbling over nesting sites) in the gourd colony on the other side of the wetlands.

Clapper Rail clicking (or clacking or clapping) deep in the marsh for the second day in a row. Is nesting a possibility? As far as I know, the only rail to have nested on our marsh was Virginia Rail which raised a single chick here a number of years ago. Clappers nest on the Shinnecock marshes on the other side of the bay.

I thought that all the White-throated Sparrows had left us for more northerly climes but there was at least one bird still singing its classic song somewhere deep in the scrub on the far side of the old right-of-way. One set of supposed lyrics to this song is "O sweet Canada, Canada, Canada" -- presumably a reference to the bird's ultimate destination (but plenty of them breed just north in the Catskills and Adirondacks).

Tuesday, May 10:

A new observation for the season: a morning sunrise!

The turn in the weather (which was responsible for the above) also brought in a few birds. A first-year Orchard Oriole -- a yellow bird with a black bib, looking more like a western oriole -- was singing as it fed in the treetops; in my opinion, this species is, along with the Rose-breasted Grosbeak, our most talented songster. Even a first-year bird like this one is as melodious as his elders and, I'm quite sure, can mate and breed in this plumage.

Baltimore Orioles were also present with at least one showing female plumage. Or could it have been a first-year male? The Baltimores also have a first-year male plumage but it is not as distinctive as that of its congener. An indubitably female Scarlet Tanager was also around with the male singing somewhere in the distance.

One warbler: a handsome male Yellow-rumped. One flycatcher: a calling, tail-wagging Phoebe.

The Purple Martin colony on the far side of the marsh was in full swing. On the marsh: both egrets and some noisy Willets. No clapping rails and no sign of the White-throated Sparrow.

Eric Salzman