a flight of Connecticut Warblers?

Got an e-mail from Joe Polashock yesterday describing a warbler seemingly identical to the one I wrote about yesterday; according to Joe, it was walking around his garden in New Suffolk and pumping its tail. I never get to see Connecticut Warblers on the ground (our underbrush is too thick) but it is well known that they walk on the ground and bob up and down (which can also be described as tail pumping). Also Connecticut Warblers have been reported from the city as recently as yesterday. In short, there has been a substantial flight of these uncommon birds in the past few days extending from at least New York City to Eastern LI.

The bird population here this morning was completely quiet except for one cawing Crow. I soon found out the cause: a hungry-looking adult Cooper's Hawk perched on a dead branch on the edge of the marsh and just under the crow. It didn't seem to mind the annoying crow but, at my approach it took off into or through the trees (Cooper's are big birds but, like other accipiters they have the ability to navigate through the woods). Shortly thereafter all the usual small birds emerged to dry themselves off in the rays of the rising sun (they were all wet from the heavy dew) and begin to feed. But, no sooner had they started to go about their business when another large raptor appeared, this time a flying Northern Harrier coming across the creek and up the marsh. But the harrier showed no inclination to hunt and flapped gracefully over the top of the trees and disappeared.

Eric Salzman