dust baths & a spelling question

There are almost two dozen individuals in the rafter of Wild Turkey that has been making the rounds here: three adult hens and something like 20 half grown teen-agers.
Most of them were happily poking around at the edge of the woods or in the grass, looking for something to eat while the adults stood guard. But one adult and several of the youngsters went to an open spot in the middle of our little meadow and began taking dust baths, wiping out whatever scraps of grass might have been struggling to grow.

Earlier in the day, I got a glimpse of the female Ruby-throated Hummingbird feeding one of her recently fledged chicks but didn't find the other one before the rain came. The two offspring from the nearby lichen-covered nest fledged yesterday morning or late afternoon the day before, the first nesting on our Weesuck Creek property -- at least that I know of. Afterwards, I took a turn in a neighbor's garden where a hummingbird -- possibly our female -- has been visiting (the distance is considerable but probably not insurmountable for a determined hummingbird mother). Among the appropriate hummingbird flowers in her yard are a wild sprouted Jimson Weed with large white flowers and purple lines inside, no doubt to guide any potential pollinators; also Morning Glories (used to be common on our place before Sandy) and an unidentified red flower which is probably the hummer's favorite.

One bird that has been conspicuously absent this year turned up today for only a second or third visit all spring and summer: the Green Heron, formerly a regular breeder on the place or in the immediate area. Other birds seen included Yellow Warbler, Eastern Towhee and a sparrow with a streaky breast, a faintly yellow bill and a faint eye ring, probably a juvenile Chipping (and not a juvenile Field which used to breed around here but no longer).

An East Quogue neighbor who grew up here and sometimes works in real estate sent me a map of the hamlet c, 1900. I notice that our creek is spelled with one 'e' not two, Does anyone know what the correct spelling is? Weesuck or Wesuck? I'll have to research this a bit further!

Eric Salzman