change of pace

Another change of pace: cooler, brisk northeast winds, puffy clouds moving high overhead in the opposite direction. There were three distinct feeding flocks. The first one, encountered early in the morning right in back of the pond, was led by a whole troupe of Yellow-rumped Warblers with one or Palm Warblers, B-c Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, at least one Ruby-crowned Kinglet and no less than four species of woodpecker: Downy, Red-bellied, Flicker and, yes, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in only slightly faded plumage (Hairy Woodpecker, however, did not show).

The second flock was also anchored by Chickadees and Titmice but included a number of the season's first Golden-crowned Kinglets. Not easy to see from underneath (they often stay high) but acrobatic enough so that eventually they tip over and show the golden crown (they also make very characteristic soft lisping chips which is the first sign of their presence). The third group was a flock of Dark-eyed Juncos; I tried in vain to spy some other sparrows with them but they all took off into densely foliated trees.

At any rate, all three flocks featured recent arrivals on the scene -- the Sapsucker, the two kinglets and the Juncos!

Eric Salzman