Lots of birds in and out of the Tupelo trees at the the head of the marsh. The obvious attraction is the berries but I suspect there is also insect prey for those insectivores: Easterm Wood-pewee, Eastern Phoebe and Great Crested Flycatcher plus a number of Redstarts with at least one in adult male plumage (the only other warbler was a Yellowthroat in the marsh). Veritable troupes of American Robins and Gray Catbirds were all over the place, jumping in and out of the Tupelos (or Pepperidge or Black Gum or Beetlebung or Nyssa Sylvatica) whose leaves are turning bright red, probably to signal to the world that the berries underneath ar ripe (the berries are black and often hidden beneath but the red leaves stand out). The Catbirds often pluck the berries by darting up from the underbrush and nipping them off in whirring flight before dropping down to the dense cover underneath. Other birds joining the feast were the finches (Gold and House) a Mockingbird, and woodpeckers as well (Downy, Red-bellied and Flicker).
There were some 'new' birds on the scene: a nice yellow female Scarlet Tanager, a Brown Thrasher and a small flock of male Cowbirds in a shiny iridescent plumage. Also two small scale entries: a handsome male Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher and a hummingbird zipping overhead.
I forgot to mention in an earlier post that while Eileen Schwinn and I were searching for the Connecticut Warbler on Tuesday morning, we saw Chipping and Swamp Sparrows, the advance guard of what we hope will be this fall's October sparrow migration. And yes, the season has already turned: Happy Fall!
Eric Salzman
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