fog

Heavy fog this morning blanking out Dune Road, Pine Neck and, for a while, even the Town Dock. I could see a Raccoon padding around in the mud at the mouth of the pond but not much else. As the sun pushed through and the fog began to lift (and the Raccoon took off for his daytime nap), I made my way out into the marsh and was surprised to see a Merlin sitting on a branch of a dead tree almost over my head. Like many arctic birds, the Merlin is remarkably tame and he/she refused to budge even as I approached him; eventually he did fly off. This wasn't the only raptor of the morning. A beautiful mature-plumaged Cooper's Hawk -- red cross streaking on the breast, blueish back plumage --  was also sitting out in the open on a dead branch further up the trail, a perch from which he could presumably have an overview of the entire head of the marsh. As the mist cleared, other birds began to appear starting with a couple of Blue Jays who quickly discovered the hawk and began to call for assistance. Other calling Blue Jays arrived and one of them even had the courage to dive bomb the hawk -- from above to be sure -- emitting that scary cracking sound that Blue Jays seem to reserve for hawk attacks. Eventually the Cooper's took off and landed, first in the big Tupelo nearby and then in a more distant dead tree from which it took off over the treetops.

With the hawk out of sight, the smaller birds were free to resume their breakfast, mostly popping in and out of the Tupelos which still had plenty of berries. The berry eaters were mostly Gray Catbirds, American Robins and American Goldfinches but mixed in were a number of insect eaters that were clearly migrants: an Eastern Wood-pewee, a Great Crested Flycatcher, several Red-eyed Vireos and a number of warblers: American Redstarts (including a handsome mature male), a Common Yellowthroat and, once again, a Wilson's Warbler (this was not far from where we saw one yesterday). There were also a number of woodpeckers in the area including several Downies. A squabble between two of the Downies -- possibly two young birds of the year -- was amusing to watch as they circled on opposite sides of the same treetrunk with their heads and beaks pointed straight up in the air. As one left the protection of the trunk and tried to fly the other bird immediately went after it and an aerial dogfight ensued, ending only when the birds returned to their tree trunk merry-go-round.

Eric Salzman