Two Great Crested Flycatchers came by the house this morning, one with a lot of yellow and strikingly crested, the other with less yellow and a round, uncrested head. Perhaps one is the male and the other the female? Or an adult and a young one? Or simply one male highly agitated (e.g. the punk hairdo) at the intrusion of a rival male into his territory? Not sure how to tell.
Still with us: Eastern Phoebe, White-breasted Nuthatch, Pine Warbler and Common Yellowthroat, No sign of the Yellow Warbler for the past couple of days.
The 2016 Weesuck Song Prize goes to the House Wren. This is not a prize for melodiousness or creativity but for persistence. This bird or these birds (there are two or three of 'em) start singing at daybreak and continue their loopy bubbly song all morning without a break. After lunch, they often pick up as well, sometimes moving through the underbrush, sometimes taking a higher spot to broadcast their intentions. They never seem to sit still for more than a song length -- a second or two at their high metabolism. Carolina Wrens are loud, emphatic and moderately persistent singers but, for now at least, they have been surpassed by their wren relatives.
Eric Salzman
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