Corn Crake

As most of you probably know, there was a Corn Crake somewhere on the Jones Beach strip of the barrier island this past week. Some of us will remember that this bird was illustrated by R.T. Peterson in the early editions of his path-breaking field guide but afterwards disappeared as it hadn't been seen on this side of the Atlantic for decades. Corn Crake is an upland rail that inhabits the edges of farm fields in the Old World and winters in Africa. It is considered highly endangered in Europe, probably because of a change in farming practices and a more extensive use of pesticides. It is not only rare but also, like many rails, it is extremely shy and, even though it is very vocal on its breeding grounds, it still remains very difficult to see. I once spent an entire morning trying to see one at the of a wheat field near Paris (the word 'corn' was originally a generic term for any kind of wheat; there is also a farm field bird called Corn Bunting). I was literally a few feet from the bird which was calling loudly from cover but I never got to see it! Anyway, as some of you undoubtedly know, it was hit by a car racing down Ocean Highway only a couple of days after it was found and it is now a specimen at the Museum of Natural History. It was the first sighting of this bird in our area since (if I'm not mistaken) the early part of the last century. One person that got to see it alive was Eileen Schwinn. That's her photo below. There are other photos and also videos on the Internet. I'm still working on my summary for the 2017 season so you'll hear from me soon again. Eric Salzman

a wind hurricane

We didn't get a late-October Sandy-type hurricane this year but the past few days have been almost as dramatic. After a gorgeous blue-white-and-red sunrise on Saturday (blue water, white puffy clouds, red rising sun), the clouds took over followed by a hurricane-strength windstorm that took down leaves, branches and even tree trunks. This roaring, rainless storm lasted all night and well into Monday. Our electricity went out about midnight but was restored by mid-morning. As a result, I got in a good last walk only this morning (Tuesday) which was cool, cloudless and almost windless. One last 'new' bird for the season: a Marsh Wren in the reeds near the head of the marsh and very curious as to what I was doing there! There were lots of birds on the water: noisy Royal Terns and silent Forster's, Black Duck on the pond and a big silent V flight of Double-crested Cormorants overhead. Also the heron 'greats': Great Blue and Great Egret. Flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds were on their regular southwest-to-northeast trajectory. The storm seems to have reduced the numbers of upland birds although the regulars -- American Goldfinch, Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, Blue Jays, American Crow and Carolina Wren were still present in some numbers. Few sparrows although all the regulars -- Song, Chipping, Swamp and White-throated were present. A few Yellow-rumped Warblers and one lone Common Yellowthroat. I'll do one more report summing up the season sometime in the next few days. Eric Salzman

another singer and a surprise warbler

A little while ago, I wrote that Carolina Wrens were the last remaining singer from our woodland chorus. But now the wren has been joined by another singer and, surprisingly, one that doesn't even breed here. Iim talking about the White-throated Sparrow, a fall and winter visitor whose presence is often most easily noted by its elegant song: two pure, whistled notes, usually a musical fifth apart followed by a 6/8 measure consisting of a dotted 8th note, a 16th and a plain 8th which are then repeated (I think in poetry this would be called a dactyl hexameter.) There are quite a few of these sparrows around but they don't show very well so it's easier to ID them by ear! Here's a surprise: a small clutch of two or three Parula Warblers in a small feeding flock which also included White-breasted Nuthatch, Downy Woodpecker and Black-capped Chickadees. Also both kinglets (though I'm not sure if they were really part of the feeding flock). There are still lots of American Goldfinches but hardly any House Finches. Both Forster's and Royal Terns are still working the creek. A propos of the reappearance of Box Turtles, Bob Murray writes me that he found a pair mating at Apaucuck Point in Westhampton and he wondered if fall was the mating season for Box Turtles. My impression is that there is no single mating season for these reptiles but I do believe that the female, once having mated, can lay fertile eggs for a long time afterwards -- up to several years! Eric Salzman

a creek-full, a tree-full

Weesuck Creek was full of Forster's Terns this morning (I think that the Common Terns have long ago left for wherever it is that they go). I suspect there was a fish run as there were also several Royal Terns and Double-crested Cormorants, all diving -- each in its own way -- for prey. On the land side, the big Red Cedar at the turn of the marsh was also full of birds -- Yellow-rumped Warblers in this case. I could see a few birds moving about inside the tree when, suddenly, several dozen birds -- Yellow-rumps all, I am sure -- came dashing out, flying in a flock to I know not where. A probably Hermit Thrush was spotted by Lorna along with a Blue-headed Vireo and there was at least one Ruby-crowned Kinglet in action. The Blue Jays were still combing the oaks for acorns, a food item that the Red-bellied Woodpeckers also seem to like (not surprising, given that they are related to the Acorn Woodpecker of the west). Eric Salzman

an unexpected visitor and more color changes

The warm, damp weather of the past few days has brought out an unexpected visitor: Eastern Box Turtle. In 'normal' years the Box Turtles are safely tucked away in their hibernacles (hibernation retreats dug into the ground I assume) by this time of the year. The foliage continues to turn with Virginia Creeper, Viburnum and Sassafras joining the parade. The Hickories, although not as colorful, are turning yellow and some of the oaks are starting to turn (Red Oaks I assume). The spectacular show of the Tupelo leaves is over as the windy conditions of a day or two ago simply stripped off almost all the leaves. The rain should bring out some fresh mushrooms; I'll have to check tomorrow. Cooler weather might bring in some birds as well. Eric Salzman

dodging the wind and rain

High winds yesterday morning. Rain came later in the day. This is the kind of weather that big birds like: gulls, herons, the bigger woodpeckers, some of the larger passerines (Am. Robins, Blue Jays) like very much. The smaller birds tend to lie low and the passerine migrants are stalled somewhere. After the rain let up this morning, there was a busy period with nearly all the local birds actively looking for food! 'Local' in this case also includes White-throated and Swamp Sparrow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Yellow-rumped Warbler, all relatively recent arrivals. One new bird: a thrush greedily gobbling Red Cedar berries; it was undoubtedly a Hermit (I didn't see the tail but the face and the densely spotted throat seemed right). Eric Salzman

a quiet, meditative Sunday

What a difference one day makes. Yesterday morning there were literally hundreds of Yellow-rumped Warblers coming in; today I saw perhaps five or six. Today, no Red-winged Blackbird flocks, no Ruby-crowned Kinglets, no unusual sparrows, no Black or Wood Ducks, only a single Phoebe and no accipiters. But there were two Bald Eagles sitting in the dead trees at Pine Neck Point, just about where there were two Bald Eagles sitting the other day. (I couldn't tell if the plumages were similar because the morning light was showing just silhouettes but the huge size of the two birds and the fact that one bird flew in with wings flat as a board were giveaways.) One bird appeared to be a little smaller than the other but, as in most raptors, the females are bigger than the males. After an absence of a day or two, the Royal Terns came back to the creek in some numbers. Also, Belted Kingfisher (not in numbers; kingfishers come one at a time and they are very aggressive about defending their territory). Otherwise a warm, quiet, meditative Sunday. Eric Salzman

flocks and singletons

Hundreds of Yellow-runped Warblers greeted the new day this morning. As the sun hit the woodland edge as it rose over Pine Neck, the Yellow-rumps (a.k.a. Myrtles or Butter Butts) came out of nowhere, streaking by me, occasionally pausing to nibble on Red Cedar berries or to give chase to a near relative but always quickly moving on. Quite a spectacle! This is the season for birds in flocksl. Several gatherings of Red-winged Blackbird came over -- the biggest consisting of forty or fifty birds. Blue Jays and Crows, although not always in big flocks, are sociable birds and communicate with each other by sound. One bird that does move in flocks and that I see every morning (but neglect to mention) is the Common Rock Dove or Pigeon. These birds come from I know not where in groups of four to a dozen or more. They are good fliers and, in tight formation, they head out over the creek and bay where they circle about and return over the marsh to whereever they came from. Why do I never mention them? Well, no matter how well they fly, they're just Pigeons and -- fairly or not -- like most birders, I tend to ignore them. Other birds that come in numbers but separate over a wider area to feed include both finches, Gold and House, still around but in diminishing numbers. Not all birds are particularly sociable and they tend to appear as singles. These include Eastern Phoebe, Ruby-crowned Kinglet (but not Golden-crowned which usually turns up in numbers) and Brown Thrasher. Oddly enough, today's new bird, which usually comes by in small groups, was a singleton: a first-year White-crowned Sparrow with brown-and-white rather than black-and-white head markings. Eric Salzman

Blue Jays get ugly

Another gorgeous morning with clear skies, light north/northwest winds and rising temperatures. As has been true for a while, the morning activity is dominated by American Goldfinches, now almost all in their winter plumage, accompanied by a small number of House Finches and a large number of Yellow-rumped Warblers. Song, Swamp and Chipping Sparrows continue to pop up from the underbrush and the usual woodpeckers and paridae come by (the local paridae are the Black-capped Chickadee and Tufted Titmouse). Flocks of American Robins accompanied by a few Northern Flickers came streaming by, almost always from the 'wrong' direction -- southwest to northeast; they are night flyers who continue to fly into the morning. There are still numbers of Blue Jays looking for acorns and raptors. When they find a raptor they make a peculiar, ugly, rasping sound, unlike anything you would normally associate with a jay. It is either a warning to the raptor that the jays are on the case or a signal to other jays in the neighborhood that a bad guy is around -- or both. It also leads me to find the raptor; in this morning's case, a Sharp-shinned Hawk that eventually left the premises for the other side of the creek. There was also a handsome adult Cooper's Hawk -- a male I suspect but I'm not completely sure -- and a Red-tail Hawk soaring over the creek. A notable find was a White-eyed Vireo hanging out with a couple of Ruby-crowned Kinglets -- with which it shares some characteristics. Eric Salzman

rumps & pumps

I was making my way up the marsh edge which seemed to be populated only by a few Goldfinches, and a handful of Titmice and Chickdess. Suddenly I was surrounded be dozens -- no, hundreds -- of Yellow-rumped Warblers. Had they just come in? Or were they resting, hidden in the reeds only to be woken up by the caress of sunlight (or perhaps also my intrusive presence). Although some of these birds were certainly feeding, others were clearly bathing in the dew that covered everything. Nothing like a fresh dew bath on a chilly October morning! Among these Yellow-rumped throngs I found two tail-pumping Yellow Palm Warblers -- not on the ground (where they are supposed to be) but up in a tree. There are a few shorebirds around but, except for one or two Black-bellied Plovers (identified by their larger size and calls), they are too far away or hidden for proper identification. Eric Salzman

a sparrow morn

Beautiful, cool, clear October morning marked by an influx of sparrows: White-throated, Swamp, Chipping and -- a new bird for the season -- Field. Several Ruby-crowned Kinglets, a Brown Thrasher and a few Robins, Flickers, and finches were also in the mix. Only two raptors were seen: a low flying Northern Harrier and, later in the day and over Route 25, a high-flying mature Bald Eagle, easily identified -- while driving! -- by the white head. Royal Terns are still frequenting the creek. This species nests south of us and, as far as I know, there is no nesting record for Long Island. However when breeding season is over, a big portion of its population moves north instead of south and, for a number of years now, we have been seeing (and hearing) them starting in July and well on into October and November. I believe that several of the southern terns have begun nesting on Long Island (Forster's, Gull-billed) so maybe we can expect to see Royals joining their smaller relatives. Eric Salzman

cold front

The cold front that moved in last night brought quite a few birds. White-throated Sparrow finally showed as part of a small feeding flock that included Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Phoebe, two or three Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Downy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers. A fairly large flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers came shooting across the sunny woodland front heading northwest; the light was great but the flock was moving so fast -- and darting in and out of cover -- that I could not see if there were any other warbler species mixed in. There were just a handful of House and Goldfinches remaining; most of them have undoubtedly moved out with the change in the weather. I looked hard for Brown Creepers and/or Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers without any success (I thought I heard a Sapsucker calling but couldn't locate it visually). Bob McGrath writes to tell me that the successful William Floyd Bald Eagle pair consisted of a white-headed adult and a young -- perhaps second-year -- bird. So Bald Eagles can mate and produce young before they attain adult plumage; as is the case with some other raptors, the young females will often mate successfully with s mature male. The two Bald Eagles seen yesterday on Pine Neck may have been a mated pair; this wooded property, now a Nature Conservancy refuge, would be a perfect place for a Bald Eagle nest. According to McGrath there are now seven active Bald Eagle nests on Long Island and the population seems to be expanding! Nice to get some positive environmental news for a change! Eric Salzman

big raptors

It was a soggy, overcast morning but not entirely without a bit of drama. An immature Bald Eagle was perched on a dead tree at the point of Pine Neck and, as I watched, it made a couple of flapping/soaring flights over the mouth of Weesuck Creek. Was this the same bird I saw the other day on a foggy, badly lit morning? Now, with somewhat better light and a circling bird coming closer overhead, I could see white markings on its breast and back, suggesting a second year immature. As I was keeping an eye on this bird, it perched again on a different dead tree. I was moving into the marsh to get a closer look when a couple of things happened. The first bit of drama was a Peregrine Falcon that came shooting across the creek on a powerful straight line heading from the northeast to the southwest. Clearly a migration. The other was that the Bald Eagle took off again, disappeared around the corner of Pine Neck and then reappeared, landing on another tree. Now I could see clearly that it had a white head! How could I have missed this most obvious field mark? The explanation came a few minutes later when I realized that there were actually two birds, both perched on bare limbs not very far apart from one another, one with a white head and the other not. A second-year bird and an adult hanging out together! Eric Salzman

acorns & nuts

Overcast, mild, light winds, touch of fog. In short, a quiet Sunday morning. So quiet that even the usually vocal Carolina Wrens are silent. The daily visit from the Wild Turkeys is now down to four -- one slightly larger hen and three almost full-grown poults. Acorns are the big item now. They are taken by Blue Jays, Red-bellied Woodpeckers and Gray Squirrels. Hickory nuts are also all over the place and, in one or two areas, big Black Walnut nuts are raining down. The loudest noise is an acorn or nut falling on a roof top. The Hickory nuts are too big for the Jays but the Squirrels are busy nibbling off the outside shield to get to the nut itself and the meat inside. They will use the nuts and the acorns for winter storage. I don't think anything takes the huge round Black Walnuts. I used to try to get at the delicious walnut meat inside by putting the nuts in a vise and hammering though the green and messy black exterior to crack the core inside. Once upon a time we made Pecan Pie with Black Walnuts but I could never avoid getting lots of shell mixed in and I finally gave up. Autumn color is passing its peak. The brightest colors belong largely to wetland plants -- especially Tupelo but also Red Maple (or what's left of it after Sandy), High-bush Blueberry and Poison Ivy (!). Also the introduced Norway Maple (Sugar Maples, which are the glory of the New England fall are great rarities here). Eric Salzman

acorns & nuts

Overcast, mild, light winds, touch of fog. In short, a quiet Sunday morning. So quiet that even the usually vocal Carolina Wrens are silent. The daily visit from the Wild Turkeys is now down to four -- one slightly larger hen and three almost full-grown poults. Acorns are the big item now. They are taken by Blue Jays, Red-bellied Woodpeckers and Gray Squirrels. Hickory nuts are also all over the place and, in one or two areas, big Black Walnut nuts are raining down. The loudest noise is an acorn or nut falling on a roof top. The Hickory nuts are too big for the Jays but the Squirrels are busy nibbling off the outside shield to get to the nut itself and the meat inside. They will use the nuts and the acorns for winter storage. I don't think anything takes the huge round Black Walnuts. I used to try to get at the delicious walnut meat inside by putting the nuts in a vise and hammering though the green and messy black exterior to crack the core inside. Once upon a time we made Pecan Pie with Black Walnuts but I could never avoid getting lots of shell mixed in and I finally gave up. Autumn color is passing its peak. The brightest colors belong largely to wetland plants -- especially Tupelo but also Red Maple (or what's left of it after Sandy), High-bush Blueberry and Poison Ivy (!). Also the introduced Norway Maple (Sugar Maples, which are the glory of the New England fall are great rarities here). Eric Salzman

contrary winds?

The surface winds and lower clouds were coming from the northeast this morning but the upper clouds were moving in the exact opposite direction -- from southeast to northeast. Even stranger was the fact that the roar of the ocean breakers, coming directly from the south, was as loud as I've ever heard it! At daybreak, a large raptor was harassing the Town Dock gulls at the foot of Bay Avenue. At first, I couldn't get any markings on this big dark bird but as it turned away from the gulls and came straight across the marsh, I could see some light marks on the back of the otherwise dark plumage. Given that the size of the bird was close to (or even larger) than the gulls, I would venture to say that this was a first-year Bald Eagle and, if so, the first of the year! All three mimids (Mockingbird, Thrasher, Catbird) are still here along with small numbers of both finches and several Blue-headed Vireos. A winter-plumaged Blackpoll was mixed in with the Yellow-rumped Warblers and there were quite a few Common Yellowthroats along the marsh edge. Eric Salzman

a golden sunrise

Because of the way the house is situated (we are blocked by the woods to the west), we don't get to see the sunset but, as we face east, we sometimes can catch a gorgeous sunrise -- particularly at this time of the year when the sunrise coincides with the beginning of the day. Such was the case this morning as a belt of clouds reflected the rising sun in a way that cast a golden glow over everything before the clouds gathered and covered it up. The recent flocks of finches have all but disappeared to be replaced by dozens of Yellow-rumped Warblers. American Robins came streaming in for the first hour or two of daylight; unlike most migrants they continue their migration during the early hours of the day, accompanied by Northern Flickers and still more Blue Jays. There were a few Blue-headed Vireos and some lingering (or newly arrived) Common Yellowthroats. On the water side, there were at least four Greater Yellowlegs, a couple of Osprey in obvious migration and any number of noisy Royal Terns. Eric Salzman

'shrooms

More rain, more mushrooms. We're getting russulas, various amanitas (definitely not edible), more Lactarius volemus (definitely edible) and more chanterelles (ditto). Caught a Box Turtle eating a mushroom (they like the mushrooms and also the damp mushroom weather). I've also seen a Gray Squirrel munching on a mushroom. The photos above were taken by my son-in-law (who is French) in a French market! On the bird scene, I got out for a short walk before the rains hit just in time to see a new bird for the season: Golden-crowned Kinglet. Eric Salzman 14 Randall Lane P.O. Box 775 East Quogue NY 11942 phone: 718 522-3387 E-mail: es@ericsalzman.com Web: www.ericsalzman.com

Hey Jays! Sharpie here!

Our Blue Jays found a new hawk to mob this morning: a Sharp-shinned. It's hard to imagine a Sharp-shinned taking a Blue Jay (they are just about the same size) but that doesn't mean that the jays are willing to just leave it alone. Eventually, as one Jay after another came swooping in making raucous calls and coming within a few feet of the perched bird sitting on a dead tree limb out in the open, the Sharpie decided that discretion was the better part of valor and took off, resuming his migration with a trail of jays following and making sure he was moving on. The only other raptor seen was a handsome Northern Harrier which circled low over the marsh twice on a steady glide and then went back across the creek to Pine Neck where I lost track of it. The Jays never noticed or didn't care. The Royal Terns were back on the creek in some numbers and they are catching fish. I saw one bird lose his wiggling prey and had to dive down again to the water to retrieve it. A new round of Flickers came in in some considerable numbers; all four woodpeckers were seen including Hairy (but no Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers yet) Also seen were an Eastern Phoebe, several Eastern Towhees and a mysterious warbler with a pair of bright wingbars and a wash of light rufous on its breast. I think it was a Bay-breasted Warbler but I never got more than just momentary look before it vanished. This warm weather is not particularly good for migrants but I'll keep looking anyway. Eric Salzman

Welcome back!

A flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers came in this morning; I had already seen one or two of these winter birds but this was the first real flock -- in first-year winter plumage of course.The eastern subspecies used to be known as the Myrtle Warbler (they got through the winter by feeding on cedar berries, bayberry berries and wax myrtle) but a recent proposal to resplit them from the western Audubon's Warbler was rejected by the powers that be so, officially, they are still Yellow-rumps. Either way, it was nice to welcome them back. Song, Swamp and Chipping Sparrows but no White-throats yet. They should be along any day now. Two Peregrine Falcons and one Merlin came over the creek this morning, perhaps the beginning of a hawk flight (alas I couldn't hang around to find out). Other activity on the creek included the return of the Royal Terns after a couple of days absence and our regular patrolling Madame Kingfisher -- I assume it's always the same bird. She landed on the dead cedar by the pond with a nice fish in her beak but took off again when she saw me; the Kingfishers are just about as untame as any of our birds. The good news is that there are fish in the creek available to be caught by terns and kingfishers. The best story of the day was my discovery of a large non-Osprey perched next to the Osprey nest -- silvery on the back, white on the breast with a white wing bar, etc. etc. I simply could not resolve it well enough with my binoculars to identify it; it did not resemble anything that I was familiar with. I ran back to the house to get the spotting scope and finally had a great look at a large piece of plastic stuck in the side of the nest! Eric Salzman

changes in the avifauna

The changes in the local bird life in the past couple of weeks have been very striking. In its initial phases, the cool spell brought in some really notable migrants with two sighting of Western Tanagers, taking the lead. There were also a number of interesting warblers including Cape May and Orange-crowned as well as more familiar birds such as Eastern Towhee, Brown Thrasher, Swamp Sparrow and two vireos (Red-eyed and Blue-headed). The big flocks of finches, Gold and House, have dwindled down considerably at the same time as Northern Flickers and American Robins started to come through in some numbers. But the biggest surprise was the huge invasion of Blue Jays, looking for a spot with a good acorn crop -- which proved to be us. Blue Jays are expert at finding acorns but also at finding raptors which they try to mob and chase away. Here is Eileen Schwinn's shot of an Eastern Screech Owl at a day roost in her yard; I'm pretty sure that she found it courtesy of mobbing Blue Jays. Eastern Screech Owl comes in two flavors known as morphs: gray and rufous; notice that, as is the case with most Long Island Screech Owls, this one is a 'rufous morph'. Eric Salzman

Blue Jays vote with their wings

Mike Bottini writes from The Springs that the acorn crop there is poor and wants to know if it's any better here. Apparently the Blue Jays have voted with their wings. They are all over the place and, when I put up the binocs to look at one, it invariably has an acorn in its beak. They came in all in a bunch a week ago or so -- maybe from The Springs. What are they doing with these acorns? Gulping them down or stashing them somewhere in anticipation of a hard winter? Gigi Spates suggests that the decapitated Muskrat that I found the other day was the work of a Great Horned Owl. Apparently brains are their favorite snack. Great Horned Owls -- two them, a male and a female -- have been hanging out in our area this year. Usually they nest in the Pine Barrens but this is their courtship season and a local nesting by the end of fall or early winter is not an impossibility. I would suggest keeping your unleashed pets indoors (especially cats!) As many of the readers of this blog know, there is a Brown Booby at Lake Montauk and it often perches on the mast of a boat (or boats) and is reportedly not difficult to find, observe and photograph. Brown Booby is a tropical relative of the Gannet which is usually found plying tropical waters. Its appearance here is, no doubt, connected with the recent round of hurricanes in tropical waters. I hope to get out to Montauk to see it myself before it takes off for home. Eric Salzman

a busy morning walk

Bob Adamo came over today to join me on my morning walk; I suspect he was hoping to find the Western Tanager. Well we didn't find it but the walk was full of birds, the most intriguing of which was a warbler feeding on Red Cedar berries in the very trees where I saw Orange-crowned Warbler yesterday. My first instinct was, not surprisingly, to call it an Orange-crown -- it was equally small with a short, sharp beak and a fairly uniform color above. But, unlike the Orange-crown, the breast was a uniform light yellow without any visible streaking, the upper parts were more olive than gray, there was a trace of wingbars and a definite eyering. My best guess is that it was an immature Wilson's Warbler but I am not 100% of this and the bird disappeared before we could get any better looks (or photos). In addition to this confusing fall warbler, we had a very decent list (including a couple of birds that I found after Bob left) as follows: Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Great Egret Snowy Egret Mute Swan Canada Goose Mallard Osprey Wild Turkey Greater Yellowlegs Herring Gull Ring-billed Gull Rock Dove Mourning Dove Ruby-throated Hummingbird Belted Kingfisher Red-bellied Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Northern Flicker (many) Eastern Wood-pewee Eastern Phoebe Red-eyed Vireo Blue-headed Vireo Blue Jay (lots) American Crow Tree Swallow Black-capped Chickadee Tufted Titmouse White-breasted Nuthatch Carolina Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet American Robin Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird Brown Thrasher Black-throated Green Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler (1st of the season for me) Black-and-white Warbler Northern Cardinal Eastern Towhee Song Sparrow Swamp Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle House Sparrow American Goldfinch House Finch That makes 47 species not counting the mystery warbler. Eric Salzman

a confusing fall warbler and a Great White Shark nursery

This morning's weather was almost a duplicate of Friday's -- cool, clear and dry with light northerly winds. The influx was smaller but included some interesting birds. There were three warblers: Black-and-white, Black-throated Green (a young one without the black throat but unmistakeable; first of the season for me) and a stumper. This confusing fall warbler was a small gray bird -- something like the smooth olive/gray coloration of a Warbling Vireo but definitely a warbler not a vireo (smaller, active behavior eating Red Cedar berries, sharp bill, etc.). My next thought was Tennessee Warbler but that didn't fit either (back too uniform, touches of yellow below especially on the undertail coverts, very faint breast streaking, broken eye ring and just a touch of an eye stripe). The solution was Orange-crowned Warbler, a close relative of the Tennessee, but quite variable according to subspecies and season. I have never seen one with so uniformly grayish and with so little yellow underneath but this is apparently possible, even common, in young birds (especially females) of the Eastern subspecies. Many Blue Jays and Northern Flickers still around along with Red-eyed Vireos and Eastern Towhees and the flocks of House Finches have returned; the Goldfinches seem to have almost completely disappeared. Butterflies continue on the move with numbers of Monarchs, Red Admirals and at least one of the Commas. This has been the best Monarch migration in several years! An addendum: went to the SOFO (South Fork Natural History Museum) board meeting in the afternoon and had the pleasure of seeing a male Kestrel shooting across the Vineyard Field (in back of the museum). This once common breeding bird and fall migrant has been achingly scarce in recent years. One of the fascinating things discussed in the board meeting was SOFO's participation in a Great White Shark tagging program. Apparently the ocean just off shore is full of bunker or menhaden and there are Humpback Whales and Great White Sharks feeding on them. Even more remarkably, these waters, just off the South Fork, have become a breeding nursery for this legendary creature! Eric Salzman

coming and going

Although the weather was cool with northeast winds, the sun did manage to push through some dramatic morning clouds. But there was no migrant burst comparable to yesterday's autumn push; Red-eyed Vireos and Eastern Towhees were the only new arrivals that I found. What was noticeable was how many species have disappeared or dropped considerably in numbers: the finches (both Gold and House), Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Yellowthroats, all the terns on the creek. I spooked an Osprey on a dead snag taking apart a fish and several Osprey were moving high overhead, clearly in migration; I think the local Osprey have all left for Cuba (or wherever they go). Belted Kingfisher continues to patrol the creek and the pond; not sure if it's the same bird or a succession of migrant kingfishers. Flickers and American Robins continue to arrive in some numbers and the Blue Jays are still all over the place, snagging acorns and screaming their inevitable Blue Jay screams. Fall asters are beginning to show: small white ones and classic light blues. A much less lovely sight was a headless rodent with a long rat-like tail. I think it was too big to be a rat but it was a good candidate for a muskrat. Muskrats disappeared here after Sandy -- I suspect all their lodges and burrows were flooded out and many of them must have drowned. I've been waiting for their return ever since. What predator would decapitate a muskrat? I suspect an owl or a hawk. Eric Salzman

fall is really here

The turn of the weather from mild/humid to cool/clear/dry with northwest winds made for a big morning with an exciting burst of migrants. But, wouldn't you know it, this was the morning that I had to quit 30' or 40' after setting out in order to meet another sudden pressing obligation. What I did see was inspiring enough. The most startling thing was the reappearance of the male WESTERN TANAGER which has obviously been here at least since I first saw it a couple of days ago. This time, it appeared that the red head was beginning to wear a bit into winter plumage but I didn't have the time to investigate further. I should mention that Scarlet Tanagers also molt into winter plumage (the beautiful bright green-and-yellow bird I saw yesterday could have been a molted male Scarlet) but the process produces a bird with blotchy yellows and reds, not at all like the Western's transition from breeding to non-breeding which involves mostly the loss of the head color. Two new birds: (1) Blue-headed Vireo (one of my favorites with its green back, blue/gray head, wing bars, white breast with yellow sides and dashing white spectacles; and (2) Swamp Sparrow. Both of these birds are regulars at this time of the year. Also seen in the course of literally a few minutes were Eastern Phoebes, Eastern Wood-pewee, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and Black-and-white Warbler (I'm sure there were more warblers in that morning burst but I couldn't hang around long enough to find out) . Hordes of Blue Jays are still present and still apparently doing their job which, for jays, means finding acorns and scolding raptors. Acorns I could see but I never got a good look at the raptors. I was able to take a walk later in the day but the morning burst had dissipated. I'll try again tomorrow. Eric Salzman

lots of Blue Jay scolds

We don't think of Blue Jays as migrants as they are with us all year round -- depending, it is true, on the acorn crop. This morning dozens of jays were flying in from the south on a southwest/northeast trajectory. This may not sound like a migratory path but I have seen other large diurnal fliers on that path, notably Robins and Flickers, both of which are at least somewhat migratory. Many land birds migrate along the shore or even out a ways over the ocean at night and when night turns to day, they head inland for some R&R. The Blue Jays flock up after breeding season and, if the acorn crop north of us is not so good, they take off -- sometimes in good numbers -- to look for oak forests with a good acorn crop. Well, this year that's us! Not surprisingly, the parties or scolds of Blue Jays (yes those collective nouns are used for Blue Jay flocks) found and chased away a Merlin. Ken Thompson sent me the records for the Fire Island Hawk Watch and it strongly confirms Carl Safina's observation that Merlin migration in these parts peaks in late September. The winds were from the north/northwest but surprisingly mild. The most striking new arrival was a glowing yellow Scarlet Tanager -- probably a male in winter plumage rather than a female -- but I also saw an American Redstart and a Red-eyed Vireo. Perhaps if the north winds continue (as they are predicted to do) we can expect a few more new arrivals. Eric Salzman

fog, wrens & turkeys

Monday's post-Jose weather brought back almost all the birds which had seemed to disappear during the high winds and extra high tides: the flocks of finches, Gold and House, Gray Catbirds, Song Sparrows, chickadees and titmice, all four woodpeckers, etc. On the creek and marsh there were Forster's Terns as well as Royals (haven't seen Forster's in a while), Belted Kingfisher, Greater Yellowlegs, Great Blue Heron and the two egrets. Also at least two Merlins, confirming Carl Safina's statement Saturday that this is the Merlin's migrational peak time. Yesterday morning was, in contrast, completely socked in; not only was Dune Road and the bay invisible but I couldn't see Pine Neck or Weesuck Creek and even the nearby Aldrich Boatyard and the Town Dock had vanished. The only close-up warblers I could find were some of the many Common Yellowthroats and a couple of Northern Waterthrushes, both responding to my 'pishing' and popping up right in front of me. As I doggedly continued making my rounds (getting wetter and wetter in the process), the fog began to lift and the regulars cited above began to reappear. This morning's fog cover was not as low or heavy as yesterday but its windless silence was overwhelmed by the roar of the ocean surf. Early morning humid air is a great conveyor of sound, it seems! Surf sound perhaps but not bird sound. On the land side, everything was quiet with the Carolina Wrens being the only singers left from the bird chorus. And there are a lot of them singing from both sides of he creek, both sides of the marsh and all sides of the woodland edges. Sometimes two of the wrens seem to butt syringes as they challenge a rival with their loud songs; I'm sure these song contests are territorial combats. One strange feature is that, unlike their breeding season songs which are repetitive and sterotyped, these birds show a wide repertoire of wren tunes and challenge their rivals to duplicate them. There are at least two Wild Turkey flocks visiting us. One has five or six young and a single big fat hen. The other has fourteen birds of almost the same size with (I think) two hens, distinguished by their slightly heavier, fatter bodies and more alert behavior. The young ones are almost grown and may even be able to fly. Although the past few weeks have not been exceptionally rainy, there have been plenty of mushrooms including some good edibles (russula, lactarius). But the most amazing mushroom event was a huge fruiting of a yellow Tricholoma. White-spored mushrooms with yellow caps, yellow gills and yellow stems are not so common and this one was either Tricholoma equestre or T. flavorvirens, a mushroom associated with sandy soils and pine/oak woods. Lorna insisted that the raw mushroom smelled of horseradish but I could barely detect this; in any case the smell disappeared in cooking. It made a superb mushroom soup and there was enough left over to make a creamed mushroom dish and freeze the rest. Eric Salzman

warm weather for the first cold-weather bird

I was hoping for something of turnout this morning. It didn't happen but, warm weather or no, I did get one early late-fall/winter bird in the form of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Also Eastern Wood-pewee and a party of eight or ten scolding Blue Jays chasing around a Cooper's Hawk. The Wild Turkey flock now seen every day consists of one hen and six almost fully-grown poults. On the creek: Belted Kingfisher, Royal Tern and usual gulls continue to dominate but a Greater Yellowlegs has appeared calling loudly and circling over the marsh. At yesterday's Climate Change Symposium at SOFO, Carl Safina noted that, from his experience watching and banding hawks at a South Shore hawk watch, Merlins peaked about this time of the year. Shortly thereafter, I saw three Merlins flying over Vineyard field at the back of the SOFO buildings where the symposium was taking place. A smallish (or perhaps medium-sized) Box Turtle, lured out by the warm weather, had a black carapace and only quite reduced orange markings. Apparently orange is not the new black for some of these reptiles. Eric Salzman

a good new warbler (& a thrush)

Continued gusts of wind from the northeast suggested lingering effects of Jose but the sky was blue and -- probably because of the winds -- there was not a drop of dew. There were birds around but these conditions made them hard to see. A few of the birds that went missing during the storm conditions were back including Gray Catbirds, House Finches and Red-winged Blackbirds. They were probably just hunkering down. But there were new birds. One of the newbies -- a bird I haven't seen around here in quite a few years (it used to be regular) -- was a Swainson's Thrush. Always a pleasure! An even more unusual visitor was a YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER, a southern species (it has only recently started nesting on Long Island) with a sharply defined bright yellow throat and upper breast, white below and a complicated face pattern consisting of an eye stripe, a lower half eye ring and a white patch behind the eye. We have had brief visits from one or two singing birds in the spring many years ago and a fall bird in the first week of September, 2007. The late September appearance up here of this beauty of a southern bird -- which should be migrating even further south by now -- might well be connected with Jose! Eric Salzman

in the wake of Jose

The tail end of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Jose prevailed this morning with fairly strong gusts of winds from the northeast and alternating cloud cover and sunshine. The stormy weather seems to have cleared out a good many birds including most of the blackbirds (Red-wings, Grackles), Gray Catbirds and House Finches. Eastern Goldfinches continued in numbers however, probably because of the wide-spread wind-blown seeds that they prefer: a few thistles and lots of Pilewort and Baccharis (or Groundsel) which have feathery attachments to their seeds; I think the House Finches are more addicted to the bigger seeds of Ivo and other marsh plants. Surprisingly there were a few warblers with fair numbers of Common Yellowthroat including at least one dead male -- cause unknown; it was a young one with a black mask coming in. Also American Redstart and Northern Waterthrush. But the best warblers were two Palms, one each from the two Palm Warbler races: the Western race which, curiously enough, is more common in the East in the fall and is yellow only under the tail and the Yellow or Eastern race which is overall yellowish. Both were enthusiastic tail waggers with eye stripes and faint breast streaking. And both were the first ones that I've seen in this fall season (yes, it's now officially fall). An Eastern Wood-pewee and an Eastern Phoebe just about complete the cast for the morning's performance. Almost all these birds were at the edge of the upper marsh where they were somewhat shielded from the winds by the woods behind. Eric Salzman

an eventful passage

The passing of Jose didn't seem to produce anything exotic around here but it did produce a couple of unusual encounters. One was yesterday morning when I was coming out of the marsh. The strong northwest winds seemed to have driven most of the birds away -- even in the rather protected area near the head of the marsh -- so I was surprised to see a whole cadre of mostly small birds hovering anxiously and rather noisily around a low dense bush. Almost every local species was represented including a Ruby-throated Hummingbird and, even more surprisingly, at least four or five American Redstarts (all in the 'yellowstart plumage). I tried to peer into the middle of the bush but I couldn't see anything nor did the bird's actions and my experience with owls suggest that a Screech Owl was hiding in a bush just a few inches off the ground. Was there a predatory cat sneaking around? If so, it was a completely stationary cat as the birds did not change the direction of their anxiety even as I approached. Suddenly I saw what it was. Wrapped round some bare branches sticking out from the bush were two Garter/Ribbon Snakes. Had the snakes been routed from their den by the extremely high tides? They were a few feet above the ground and right out in the open but curled up in the dead branches where their yellow and black stripes afforded them -- at least to me if not to the birds -- some measure of camouflage. Oddly enough, after about 15' or 20' the chiviers all suddenly departed leaving just the chivied and myself to contemplate the situation. The snakes, ever so slowly then started to move which I took as my signal for departure. There were a few warblers and flycatchers that stayed around through the storm. In addition to Common Yellowthroat, Black-an White Warbler and the surprising number of Redstarts, Lorna saw a warbler with a bright yellow breast and no wing bars hanging out with a feeding flock of Titmice and Chickadees; I looked hard but couldn't find it. I did see both Eastern Phoebe and Eastern Wood-pewee weathering the weather. This morning, the winds were still blowing fitfully. As is my usual practice I took my dog out for a walk shortly after 6 am. As we all know, at this time of the year, it's still quite dark at that hour but Rimsky (the dog) doesn't care as he is mostly interested in what he can smell. Suddenly he started to bolt and I had to hold on to his leash for dear life. Rimsky is 14 years old and rarely exhibits such eager chase behavior these days, even for his favorite 'chaseables' -- deer, Wild Turkey, etc. But these are all daytime creatures. His new item of interest was a nocturnal forager: a Virginia Opossum! In the old days, we let our dogs run free and one of Rimsky's predecessors got into a horrible nocturnal tussle with one of these beasts. I grabbed a flashlight and made my way into the woods to find the dog standing triumphantly over its dead prey. I collared the dog and brought him back into the house but then I had to make several return trips into the woods to show everyone in the family the bleeding carcass of our resident marsupial. Except the last time I went out -- with daughter Eva as I recall -- there was no possum. I shone the flashlight into the understory of the woods and there was the 'bleeding' possum calmly trotting away. I had completely forgotten that these animals can 'play possum' with about as realistic a performance as you can imagine. In any case, Rimsky didn't get the chance to try the experiment again. Eric Salzman

a dark & stormy morn

A dark and stormy morn. Gulls and Royal Terns seemed to be enjoying it but most everything else was hunkered down. Surprisingly though, I spotted four warbler species: Common Yellowthroat, Black-and-white, Prairie and Northern Waterthrush, the lastnamed a bird that hasn't been seen around here in several weeks. Hurricanes and Tropical Storms do sometimes send exotic birds our way. Thanks to Irene -- a few years back, I admit -- we had a Bridled Tern on the creek and it's on my 'property' list! Eric Salzman

birds & seeds

The past couple of days have not been particularly good for migration but substantial flocks of House Finches and somewhat smaller groups of Goldfinches continue to work the Marsh Elder (Iva). The Baccharis or Groundsel -- Iva's sister plant at the edge of the marsh -- is in bloom right now and will start producing seed shortly which will keep these seed eaters busy for a while. The Catbirds are still feasting on the Tupelo berries along with a few other berrypickers but that resource won't last lomg. Warblers seen include Prairie, Black-and-white, Yellow, Yellowthroat and American Redstart. Two flycatchers: an Eastern Pheobe with freshly molted yellow/cream colored underparts and an Eastern Wood-Pewee with a peaked head, a vested breast and buffy wingbars (indicating s first-year bird). Still no empids, alas. A Ruby-throated Hummingbird was poking at the feathery seedhead of a Phragmites; could it have been eating a seed or just finding a tiny insect therein? Lots of noisy Royal Terns on the creek. An encounter between Blue Jays and a raptor provided a little spice to the morning's activities. I didn't get a good view of the raptor but I think it was a Merlin -- jut a hair bigger than the jays. Eric

fall flower show

The Seaside Goldenrod is coming into bloom making one of the most colorful natural floral displays that we have. As I've discussed before, goldenrod is a much maligned plant because it blooms at the same time as ragweed; since the ragweed has almost invisible green flowers and the goldenrod (especially Seaside Goldenrod) has brilliant yellow colors on the gold side of the spectrum), the goldenrod gets blamed unjustly for ragweed hayfever. The color, of course, should give it away. Goldenrod is colorful because it is insect polllinated; ragweed is not colorful because it is wind pollinated and it is the wind-blown pollen that causes the hayfever. I know because I had it for years (seemed to have outgrown it though). Other plants in bloom right now include Pearly Everlasting, Groundsel (Baccharis), thistle (sp?), Clematis and an aster-like low plant blooming all over the dunes at Smith Point (one of the Golden Asters?). Monarch Butterflies are coming in in some numbers (a few down here; many more on the beach); a hopeful sign. As the weather turns warm and sunny again, there are many dragonflies in flight but it's a tough job to ID them. Eric Salzman

duel of the kingfishers

Heavy fog this morning blotted out Pine Neck just across the creek and even after it lifted somewhat, most of Shinnecock Bay and the Dune Road barrier beach was completely invisible. Given this background, it was surprising to hear and see Royal Terns magically appearing out of and vanishing back into the mist, calling loudly all the while. But the big event was a tremendous chase between two Belted Kingfishers, in and out of the fog but mostly on our side which was relatively clear. The chases were made all the more dramatic by the typical New Year's Eve rattles given by both birds as a sort of battle cry. One of the birds was clearly a female but I believe the other was a male. Was it love or war? The female seemed to be doing most of the chasing. Bird #1 would land on a branch on our side (overlooking the mouth of the pond) and Bird #2 would dive bomb it and chase it off its perch over the creek. Bird #2 would then circle around and land again on a dead branch on our side and the action would repeat itself. My guess is that the female was protecting her fishing grounds against an intruder. Kingfishers do not seem to have nested in our vicinity in recent years but they appear in migration and can even be found in the mild winters -- as long as the water is open. Eric Salzman

vireos, vireos, vireos

The new 'new' arrivals have all been vireos. Today's was a handsome Yellow-throated Vireo in the dense vegetation at the head of the marsh. The bird was so close to me -- it was barely above my head -- that it took me a while to get the binoculars on it: bright yellow throat and breast, white belly, two broad wingbars, olive back and -- bingo! -- yellow spectacles. Always a good bird to find out here. Yesterday's 'new' arrival was actually an old acquaintance that has not been doing well recently: Red-eyed Vireo (new only in that it's the first R-v Vireo on the place in fall migration). I've actually already had Warbling Vireo and White-eyed Vireo before this Red-eyed showed up and now Yellow-throated to add to the vireo list. Everything else (both days) was quite familiar: Royal Terns, all three mimids (including several Brown Thrashers), all four woodpeckers (including Hairy), Ruby-throated Hummingbird, the last gaggle of Wild Turkeys (six young 'uns and one fat hen standing guard), a few warblers (Yellow, Yellowthroat, Black-and-white, American Redstart). And, oh yes, a fast flying Merlin that disappeared over the treetops. Eric Salzman

a late singer and a life-and-death chase

The bird of the morning, a White-eyed Vireo (first of the season), announced its presence with a continuous bout of singing, unusual for any migrant at this time of year but easily identifiable by the 'chick' sounds inserted in and between the musical phrases. And, sure enough, up pops the bird, a good-looking breeding-plumaged specimen, right in front of me. The other big event of the morning was a series of chases by Blue Jays and, somewhat surprisingly, several Northern Flickers, of a dangerous looking Cooper's Hawk that seemed to want to hide in the foliage but was invariably found out. The Jay and Flicker are big and willing to take on the Cooper's but the smaller birds evidently were following the old adage that discretion is the better part of valor and kept to cover. There were a few warblers: several American Redstarts, Black-and-white, Yellow and Common Yellowthroat. All three mimids (Mockingbird, Catbird, Brown Thrasher) are still here and active. Ditto for the three woodpeckers, including those Flickers who are now mostly migrating birds. A few high-flying Tree Swallows and a bunch of Royal Terns completes the list. Eric Salzman

Smith Point

This is the year of the CAPE MAY WARBLER! I joined Eileen Schwinn's E.L.I.A.S. (Eastern LI Audubon Society) walk this morning at Smith Point (the western end of the Fire Island Wilderness Area and the eastern end of Smith Point County Park). The clear, cool weather with NW winds was perfect for migration. The number of warblers was not large but they were good ones. The Cape May was a male still in breeding plumage with the yellow neck, chestnut ear patch and heavily streaked breast. After many years of Cape May drought, I have seen a breeding male at Hunters Garden in the spring and I had a small group of Cape Mays on my East Quogue property for almost a week at the end of August. My guess is that a Spruce Budworm outbreak in the boreal forest has produced this bounty, the first in years. The first bird of the day was a tail-wagging Palm Warbler, seen in a bush on the edge of the parking lot. I would call this an early arrival but perhaps not as early as the ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS seen at the end of the day. This bird is known as a late migrant -- it is very rare before mid- or even late September and, like the Palm, it sometimes overwinters. There were two birds in a small thicket which I first thought were Tennessee Warblers. But they had lightly stripy breasts and the undertail coverts were yellow; one of the birds had a vague yellow wash on the upper breast and both had an eye-ring broken by a dark eyeliner with a pale whitish eyebrow above. The jizz was Vermivora and the species Vermivora Celata or Orange-crowned. Most of the warblers on the move were American Redstarts in the yellowstart plumage. A number of flycatchers were seen including Eastern Wood-pewee, Eastern Phoebe and two species of empidonax: two or three Least (big-headed, grayish with bold tear-drop eye rings) and at least two YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS (olive above, complete eye-ring, one with a quite bright yellow belly, the other with a washed-out yellow belly). Lots of Northern Flickers on the move along with a few American Robins, one Red-eyed Vireo and small flocks of Cedar Waxwings and American Goldfinches. One dark falcon on a fast overflight was probably a Merlin. Many Sanderlings along the shore chasing the waves. Larger waterbirds included several Great Blue Herons, 'V' flocks of Double-crested Cormorants and a fair number of Osprey. A big feature was the quite considerable movement of Monarch Butterflies. A few years ago this might have been considered a mediocre monarch migration but, after the recent scarcity of this well-known insect, it was a treat to see these numbers. There were other butterflies including Red Admiral and a 'grass' skipper, probably the Common Banded Skipper. Also quite a few dragonflies. Unlike the big dragonfly movement on Friday in East Quogue -- which consisted mostly of Green Darners and a few Black Saddlebags -- these were mostly unidentified smaller species. Alas, I have not reached the point where I can identify dragonflies in flight with the exception of the large and distinctly patterned Green Darner and the two Saddlebag species. Eric Salzman

mystery warbler

Eileen Schwinn came over early this morning to help relocate yesterday's Western Tanager. Alas, we didn't find it but, in recompense, we had a nice influx of migrants topped off by this 'mystery' warbler (or, if you prefer, 'confusing fall warbler'). We saw this bird three times. Or was it three different look-alikes? And what was it? The photo on the left seems to indicate an immature first-year female Mourning Warbler with a yellow throat above a grayish breast band. But there are a couple of confusing elements. One is that the breast band in this photo is actually a shadow from one of the bare branches; as shown by the other photos, the yellow extended pretty evenly from the throat to the undertail. However, I will admit that there are traces of streaking on the breast visible in the right-hand photo, Another problem is that, as the middle photo shows, the bird has a thin but complete eye ring, not the more expected broken eye ring. On the other hand, the uniform olive-green coloration of the head and back and the uniform yellow of the breast mitigate against the few other possibilities! A Great Crested Flycatcher was a migrant as the local birds have long since departed. The Brown Thrashers are still here along with many Gray Catbirds. The mimids, along with Robins and a pair of Veeries (new for the season) were eating Tupelo berries which are ripening fast. Common Yellowthroats all over the place suggest that these birds are starting to move down from the north. Ditto for Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (see Eileen Schwinn's pretty photo of a glittering young hummer below). Eric Salzman

a Wow! bird

I had a Wow bird this morning. While making my rounds and approaching the head of the marsh I caught a glimpse of brilliant yellow flashing high in the treetops overlooking the marsh. As the bird moved out of its leafy cover, I could see that it was a tanager with a glowing yellow body and a red head (!) as well as clearly marked wing bars (one white, one yellow). Only one bird fits that description: WESTERN TANAGER! This way-out-of-range bird is considered a mere vagrant in the east but it does turn up. I once led a walk in Sandy Hook, New Jersey, where we found a female Western and a few years ago there was a winter bird that frequented a feeder in Baldwin, L.I. But this morning's bird was an early September migrant male in full breeding plumage: a gorgeous sight to behold and a genuine first for the property (not to mention the first that I have seen on Eastern Long Island). My total over the years for this locality is no less than 243 species (and that doesn't include two parrots and two hypotheticals). I called Eileen Schwinn and she came rushing over but we failed to refind the bird. Oh well, that's the fun of bird-watching: you never know! This unexpected arrival was part of one of the best migration mornings in quite a few years. A vireo with a broad white eye stripe, olive/gray head and back (without contrast), and white underparts shading to yellow underneath was a Warbling Vireo -- a bird that nests locally but is not seen much around here. My longer list for the morning included Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Mute Swan, Mallard, Osprey, Wild Turkey (a small covey of five poults and one fat hen), the usual gulls, Royal Tern, Chimney Swift, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, the three breeding woodpeckers, Eastern Phoebe, Warbling Vireo (but not Red-eyed), jays and crows, fair numbers of Tree Swallows (spin-offs from the huge barrier beach migration), Bank Swallow, chickadees and titmice, the two resident wrens, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, American Robin, all three mimids, Black-and-white Warbler, American Redstart, Common Yellowthroat, Western Tanager (!), Northern Cardinal, Song Sparrow (no longer on territory), Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles (no longer on territory but in flocks), House Sparrow, and both finches (Gold and House) in good numbers. Eric Salzman

avant le deluge

There appear to be two immature Ruby-throated Hummingbirds that chase each other around in the vicinity of the head of the marsh. I had previously thought that this might indicate the intensity of the 2017 hummingbird migration but the daily appearance of these two belligerent birds in the same spot (where I have seen hummers all summer) suggests that they might be locally bred. Siblings perhaps. A curious feature was that, between chases, one of the birds was constantly poking into the lichen which adorns the bare limbs of the many Sandy-killed trees in the area. R-t Hummingbirds use lichen to decorate and camouflage their nests but nesting season is long past. Perhaps the lichen is a good place to find insects and/or water. Tuesday afternoon we sat on the front deck and watched an Eastern Wood-pewee do his or her toilette on a bare branch in the open area in front of the house. This field is usually patrolled by Eastern Phoebe but this bird was clearly a pewee.A curious feature was the buff color at the bend of the wing, a feature not mentioned in the flycatcher section of any of the bird guides. The bird took 20" to half an hour to do a really thorough job. I guess that's what it takes to keep on flying! Yesterday when I started out on my morning walk, everything was dry and, although the sky was cloudy, I thought I had plenty of time for my usual ramble. But, suddenly, the sky darkened, turning day into night. Uh-oh! I turned my steps back towards the house and hustled back in just as the thunder rumbled, the lightning flashed and the skies opened up. Eric Salzman

old & new warblers and an angry Osprey

At least one Cape May Warbler survived the rain and is still present in the usual spot at the bend in the marsh. It was an immature and looked to be feeding on the Red Cedar berries (or perhaps the insects that inhabit the Red Cedars). A new warbler was a Chestnut-sided Warbler immature (white below, lime-green on top), the first of the season. Yellow, Yellowthroats and Black-and-white are still with us. Another 'new' bird of the season: two Brown Thrashers in the shrubbery between the woods and the marsh. A few Tree Swallows have been moving overhead, all in a northwest-to-southeast direction. They are probably spillovers or laggards from the big barrier beach migration. They're the first swallows I've seen in a while Yesterday afternoon, a noisy, angry Osprey was dive-bombing a large perched raptor in a dead tree on Pine Neck. The perched bird appeared to be even larger than the Osprey and it was, I suspect, an immature Bald Eagle. I didn't have a clear enough look to be absolutely certain and I didn't have the time to wait for it to take off. Eric Salzman

cool weather with warblers

Strong winds out of the north have kept up for a few days now and the temperatures have dropped noticeably. This change of weather seems to have brought in migrants from the north and then pinned them down. As a result, we've had the same warblers in residence for several days now. All of them have been present in the feeding flocks along the edge of the marsh (which catches the early morning sun, is sheltered from the wind and has lots of food), hopping around, zipping and chasing from bush to bush and tree to tree: Yellow, Yellowthroat, Prairie, Northern Waterthrush, American Redstart, Black-and-white and, yes, Cape May. There are at least three different Cape Mays around; mature male, mature female and at least one juvenile, all distinguished by their differences in plumage (but all have the distinctive greenish/yellow rump patch). As before, the finches, Gold and House, were also active in considerable numbers. A mystery sparrow was a small young Spizella, streaked on the breast with a light-colored bill and a noticeable eye ring. Logically it should have been a Chipping Sparrow (which breeds around here) but I think the field marks suggest rather a juvenile Field Sparrow. An amusing touch: the Prairie Warblers (and only the Prairie Warblers) constantly tries to chase away the House Finches. Why? Are they in competition for food? None of the other warblers seem to care but Prairies are remarkably aggressive. Speaking of aggressive, there has also been a Ruby-throated Hummingbird in the mix, perhaps also trying to chase away some of the competition. Also still around: Green Heron, Royal Terns, Eastern Phoebe. Eric Salzman

no Cape Mays but lots of finches

Didn't see any Cape May Warblers this morning but I did spot the other warblers that have been hanging around in recent days: American Redstart, Black-and-white, Prairie, Yellow, Common Yellowthroat and Northern Waterthrush. Also Ruby-throated Hummingbird at the head of the marsh, Royal Terns on the creek and a young Eastern Phoebe hunting insects right out my porch window. The most numerous birds are still Goldfinches and House Finches along with flocks of Black-capped Chickadees. The finches have assembled to eat the Marsh Elder seeds which are in profusion right now. Eric Salzman

colorful misnomers

Both yesterday and this morning were overcast, cool and a bit windy, conditions that did not encourage migration, arriving or departing. Most of the warblers I have been seeing are still with us: Cape May, Prairie, Yellow, Common Yellowthroat, Northern Waterthrush. I saw at least three different plumages of Cape May representing (I think) male and female adults and young of the year. The male was still in his handsome breeding plumage with a yellow neck, throat and breast, heavy breast streaking, a white wing patch and a red or chestnut ear patch. Notice how misnamed many of these colorful bird-watcher specialties actually are. In fact the whole family is misnamed -- a confusion with the unrelated Eurasian warblers (which do indeed warble but are, by and large, not so pretty). Our warblers -- better looking but not so musically inclined -- are restricted to the Americas and are often called Wood Warblers to emphasize the difference. As I mentioned yesterday, the Cape May was named for a bird found at that location in the early 19th century and then not seen there for another 100 years (it breeds in southern Canada and adjacent areas of the US including parts of New England and winters in the West Indies). Prairie Warblers don't inhabit prairies but like low brushy areas. The waterthrushes are not thrushes but warblers that look only vaguely like thrushes. Probably the most egregious misnomers are the Palm Warbler and the Magnolia Warbler, both of which breed in Canadian boreal forests (the Palm in northern bogs, the Magnolia in forest trees) and both winter just south of the US (the Palm in the Caribbean, the Magnolia in Central America and parts of the Caribbean). Eric Salzman

Cape May Warbler again

Saw a Cape May Warbler again this morning. This bird had very little yellow -- just a touch on either side of the neck. It was mostly olive-gray with a sharp bill, streaking down the breast, two faint wing bars, the tell-tale greenish-yellow rump and white outer tail tips. That would make it a young bird of the year (and this certainly seems to be a Cape May Warbler Year). By the way, it's just a coincidence that Setophaga tigrina was named after the southern tip of New Jersey. The bird was first spotted there in migration by a European ornithologist in that famously birdy place but it then it wasn't seen there for another 100 years! If it had been seen first on our marsh, it might have been called the East Quogue Warbler! It actually breeds along the Canadian/US border and in New England where it feeds on Spruce Budworm. I suspect there is (or has been) a Spruce Budworm outbreak in those areas which would account for the sudden reappearance of the bird after years of absence or rarity. Prairie Warbler, Common Yellowthroat (male in full regalia with mask), Yellow Warbler and Northern Waterthrush made up the rest of the morning's warbler list. Flocks of House Finches, Goldfinches, Song Sparrows and House Sparrows are still working the Marsh Elder while Royal Terns and soaring Osprey are flying and calling over the creek.. Eric Salzman

finally some warblers!

Today's 'new' bird: Prairie Warbler. Other warblers seen: Black-and-white, Yellow, Yellowthroat and Northern Waterthrush and Am Redstart. Adding yesterday's Cape May Warblers -- a real highlight -- that makes a total of seven species. Large numbers of finch-type birds feeding in flocks on the Iva or Marsh Elder including a surprisingly large number of House Finches (they have been few in numbers recently) plus Goldfinches, Song Sparrows and Cardinals. Good-sized raptor, accipiter type, soaring overhead: long tail and broad wings make it a Cooper's Hawk. Eric Salzman

yellow rumps and honey caps

A small group of 'confusing fall warblers' (as a page in the old Petersen used to be labelled) turned up with the morning feeding flock. There were perhaps only two or three birds but they were at eye level and kept on popping up from the dense vegetation at the edge of the marsh. They all had yellow rumps so I immediately yelled out -- to no one in particular -- Yellow-rumped Warbler! Fortunately no one was listening; they were all warblers with yellow rumps all right but definitely not Yellow-rumped Warblers (which are typically the latest of the migratory warblers to arrive). There are only a few species with yellow rumps; this one had a yellow wash around the face and under the chin from which there were thin black streaks running down the breast. The back was an even olive-gray, the rump pale yellow and there were two thin wing bars. It took me a while to realize that I was looking at juvenile CAPE MAY WARBLERS in a plumage that I cannot remember ever having seen before. I saw a breeding plumage male this spring and it was the first one that I had seen out here in a couple of decades! This is a species that was known to be in decline for many years; maybe its reappearance in both spring and fall migration indicates some kind of recovery! The rest of the birds along the edge from the pond area all the way up to the head of the marsh were familiar local nesters although some of them may have been migrants as well. The list of edible mushrooms continues to grow with Leucoagaricus americanus (formerly Lepiota americana -- a relative of the edible Parasol Mushroom) and the Honey Mushroom or Armillaria mellea among them. Also more chanterelles and a few early boletes. The Honey Mushroom grows in clumps on dead wood, has honey-yellow colored caps (but the color is variable) and it is relatively easy to identify as it has white gills, white spores and a thin ring on its (non-edible) stem. The Lepiota or Leucoagaricus is an equally delicious mushroom but I don't recommend it unless you know your mushrooms well as it somewhat resembles a highly poisonous Amanita. Even so it's a handsome white fungus -- some brownish flecks on the caps -- that has two striking characteristics: it bruises yellow and turns red when cooked; the oder and flavor are almost perfume-y. Eric Salzman

flocking

Feeding flocks down at the pond early yesterday and this morning included Black-and-white Warbler, American Redstart, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroats plus the more expected Chickadees, Downy Woodpecker, Song Sparrows, Gray Catbirds, House Wrens, House Finches and Goldfinches. These feeding flocks start to form about now and continue into the winter. The invasion of House Sparrows continues and there were at least three or four Northern Mockingbirds as well. The Osprey continue to inhabit the creek with occasional forays into the bay. I was worried that there might not be enough fish for them all but I do see one carrying a good-sized catch in its talons now and then -- Bluefish I would guess. The young Osprey continue to whistle and call noisily but to what purpose I'm not sure (perhaps this is part of the socialization of the young birds). More bird noise came from a large flock -- at least three dozen honking critters -- of Canada Geese moving from Pine Neck across the bay. It's early for goose migration (and many, perhaps most of our geese don't even migrate anymore) but they are already flocking up and moving around. Heard one loud, unidentified call; it was repeated several but I could never find its source. The local deer 'herd' now includes two males sprouting antlers, one or two females that hang out with their offspring, sometimes with the males nearby, sometimes not. When the dog starts barking or a human appears, the adults tend to stand their ground until the last minute while the young -- still spotted -- go dashing off. Eric Salzman

a harsh croak

With a hoarse croak, a young Night-Heron landed on a branch right over my head. I studied it carefully to try and put to rest the eternal question of which Night Heron is which. This one had a long neck, a heavy bill, thin white stripes on the neck and small white spots on the back; all that plus the croak (different from the Black-crowned's croak) led to call it a juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-Heron. The marsh itself -- or rather the marsh perimeter -- was full of American Goldfinches, more than one generation of Common Yellowthroats (including a singing male, a female and several young) and a flock of House Sparrows along with a few House Finches, many Song Sparrows, and Black-capped Chickadees. I think the ripening Iva or Marsh Elder was the lure but there were also a lot of insects mixed in which may have interested some of these birds. Just coming into bloom: Seaside Lavender and Marsh Aster in the wetlands. Also a few Evening Primrose have started to flower. Eric Salzman

new birds & eclipse redux

eclipse through wispy clouds

Here is a rather murky shot of yesterday's eclipse seen through binoculars on a white sheet of paper. This was somewhat close to the maximum coverage in our area at about 2:30 pm or a little later. The murkiness is probably due to the thin layer or clouds that marred the pristine purity of the image/ The sudden weird silence of the birds did not take place mainly because most of the birds have already stopped singing a while ago! But you could see the strange light on the landscape as the moon crossed to its maximum East Quogue coverage! Other events of the past couple of days: two visits by troupes of Wild Turkeys, a few Royal Terns on the creek and a flycatcher that turned out to be an Eastern Wood-pewee and not an Eastern Phoebe (upright stance, slight crest on the head, no tail wagging). Eric Salzman

a Cyclopean eye?

I had a good look at a female Green Darner this morning. She was hanging onto to a leaf by the edge-of-the-marsh path and only a few feet away from me -- just far enough so that I could focus her in the binoculars. Green Darners are easy to spot in flight but much harder to find and observe perched. The thorax was entirely bright green but the abdomen (most people would call it the tail) was entirely brownish (there was no blue which is what makes it a female). The wings were transparent with an amber wash. The most extraordinary feature was the head with a pair of attached compound eyes and a bull's eye mark -- looking like a giant cyclopean eye -- on the forehead.

There were a few butterflies around including a hairstreak or two but I didn't get a good enough look for a positive ID.

The tide was still high and the muddy banks of the pond were covered so there was no activity there. A Great Egret and a Great Blue Heron, perched in the dead trees waiting for the tide to change, made off at my approach with their usual squawks; strange that such beautiful birds should make such ugly sounds! A few swallows and martins continued to hunt rather high over the marsh. Both the Belted Kingfisher and a couple of noisy Green Herons made their respective appearances (the herons were an adult and a young of the year). A Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher was feeding in the dead and half-dead trees along the edge; Goldfinches, House Finches and House Sparrows were active on the marsh edge; otherwise there was little upland activity beyond the usual suspects.

Eric Salzman

high tide and High Tide Bush

A morning high tide made the marsh inaccessible but it was still possible to work one's way up the side which is covered with a dense growth of the two similar-looking plants, both commonly called High Tide Bush: Baccharis (or Groundsel) and Marsh Elder. There were half a dozen male American Goldfinches still in their resplendent breeding plumage and all working the Marsh Elder (Iva frutescens) which is in seed right now. A few Barn Swallows were feeding over the marsh but, along with the Purple Martins, most of them seem to have started their journey southward. Groups of Red-winged Blackbirds -- all or mostly young birds -- have reoccupied the marsh where many of them were probably born.

The usual herons and gulls were in evidence on the creek but no terns.

The rains yesterday and last night produced more mushrooms -- Chanterelles, at least two varieties of Russula and several Meadow Mushrooms (Agaricus campestris), all edible. There were other mushrooms as well but all rather suspicious looking and difficult to ID; I let them be.

Eric Salzman

where o where have the swallows gone

Not only are the Purple Martins gone but I didn't see a single Barn Swallow this morning. There was a Green Heron, lots of gulls, a few cormorants, a couple of Common Terns but not a single swallow. I can only assume that they are on the move; it is, after all, the third week of August.

Goldenrod is coming into bloom; I think this is Early Goldenrod or Solidago juncea which has smooth stems and leaves. The most common goldenrods, Rough-stemmed and Seaside, are still a ways down the road. Another plant that is blooming right now is Jasione montana or Sheep's Bit. This is a flower that I had a lot of trouble identifying as it does not appear in the Petersen Wild Flower Guide which was my go-to flower guide for many years. This wildflower is, as might be expected, an invasive and it's name suggests that it should be found in the mountains; here, however, it blooms in the sandy open field in front of the house. (One other thing about Sheep's Bit: try saying the English name very fast a dozen times.)

A few more mushrooms are coming in: some good russelas and the Meadow Mushroom, Agaricus campestris, a close relative of the cultivated variety. Lorna made a delicious Chanterelle Risotto last night and there are still quite a few of these golden beauties left; this may have been the largest single fruiting of this delectable mushroom that I have ever discovered out here! We don't have Morels, we don't have Truffles and Cep or Boletus edulis is a rarity. But we do have Golden Chanterelles!

Eric Salzman

night into day

Tuesday night there was a Screech Owl screeching away -- well, not really screeching but whinnying and trilling as Screech Owls are wont to do. In short, within a few days, we had both our breeding owls -- Screech and Great Horned -- calling and perhaps even beginning to go through the rituals of courtship. The sky was cloudy Tuesday night (no shooting stars) but last night was clear and the humidity was low permitting a skyful of stars to be seen along with the occasional sky streak of a meteor. No owls but an ear-splitting chorus of Katydids.

I didn't see any Purple Martins this morning although I thought I heard one calling distantly from way up in the sky. The Town Dock (Bay Avenue) colony has definitely shut down for the season.

The place was inundated by hairstreak butterflies -- all of them, apparently Red-banded Hairstreaks (Calycopis cecrops). The range of this skipper is basically southern but it has been expanding to the north and I have seen it regularly here in the past few years. It is a small butterfly but it perches quietly on (or near) the ground and it's easy to see through binoculars. It sits with its underwings showing a long, partly zig-zag, red band bordered in white, with thread-like tails (easily confused with the antennae), a red-bordered black eyespot in between and a blue spot below.This southern insect was supposed to be accidental on Long Island but it has obviously expanded its range to the point where it is common here; there were so many of them this morning that I wondered if this was a hatch or some kind of migration from the south.

Eric Salzman

Martins vanish, Chanterelles appear

The Purple Martin colony and its surroundings are empty. Eileen Schwinn tells me that she has seen a few Purple Martins in the Pine Neck area that she thinks may have come from the on our side of the creek (and not from the smaller colony on the east side of Weesuck Creek). This consisted of a half youngsters with one adult male. In any case, there were only Barn Swallows and a couple of Chimney Swifts feeding over the marsh.

Just when I thought that Chanterelle season was over, I found a big patch of these delicious mushrooms. We'll have a Chanterelle risotto, a Chanterelle pasta sauce 
and maybe just sauteed Chanterelles; there' probably enough for all of the above!

Eric Salzman

outta here

As far as I can see, it looks like all the Purple Martins have left the breeding site except for one lonesome bird that was seemingly left behind. Someone asked me yesterday if I knew why and where the birds were going. The answers are pretty simple: they're headed to South America on their annual migration. Purple Martins leave relatively early because they have a leisurely voyage south, moving in large flocks and feeding as they go.

One Ruby-throated Hummingbird -- more precisely, Ruby-throatless -- was seen, not near last year's breeding site, or the house or the hummingbird feeders but near the head of the marsh.

Although Red-winged Blackbirds seemed to have abandoned their breeding sites around the pond and marsh, a flock of what I think were mostly young birds revisited the place this morning. I suppose the Martins might still revisit as well but I think that, for the most part, once they have decided to leave, they are outta here.  

Eric Salzman

waterthrushes on parade

I don't think I've ever seen so many Northern Waterthrushes; from the pond to the head of the marsh I saw at least five or six individuals and there are probably equally as many on the other side of the marsh. They seem to space themselves out and probably use their sharp 'chink' calls to warn off competitors. At any rate, they are very easy to coax up from the muddy bottom with some pishing or squeaking; they jump right up onto a nearby branch and immediately give themselves away by their bobbing tinker toy actions. I check them all to be sure that they are Northerns and I have never seen a Louisiana in this habitat.

I would say that the Purple Martin colony is slowly but surely diminishing with perhaps only a dozen birds or so left.

If the Great Horned Owls that were hooting the other night are still here, they are very well hidden. Even the Crows and Blue Jays do not seem to have found them.

Two butterflies of note: Black Swallowtail and, glory be, a Monarch.

Eric Salzman

owls

Sometime in the middle of the night my wife woke me up with the news that there were owls hooting in the woods just north of the house! They were Great Horned Owls -- our premier hoot owls -- and there were two sets of hoots, one higher pitched than the other. The difference in pitch would indicate a male and a female, perhaps a courting pair (the female is the one with a higher-pitched hoot). Owls nest in the winter and they begin calling in the fall which, for many birds begins in mid-August.

Great Horned Owls are a Pine Barrens bird and they have never been common here by the shore. I did hear a male-female duet once before (in the last year or so) but they did not appear to nest in the vicinity. Great Horned Owls need three things: (1) an existing nest they can remodel, (2) maturing woodlands, and (3) enough prey items to feed themselves and their chicks. We actually have both: crow and squirrel nests for (1), enough woodlands to satisfy (2) and, for (3) squirrels, young Raccoons and some smaller mammals as well as some good-sized birds like Wild Turkey, Flicker and Red-bellied Woodpecker. Enough to satisfy any owl's appetite I would think

Eric Salzman

new birds & fighting birds

More patches of fog this morning but mostly over Pine Neck; this side of the creek was bathed in the light of the rising sun.

New birds (for the season): Black-and-white Warbler and Eastern Wood-pewee. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher still here. A different Wild Turkey flock came nibbling by with just a single hen and eight poults or chicks, all noticeably smaller and younger than the young birds in yesterday's flock.

An amusing fight between two Carolina Wrens took place this afternoon just outside the porch where I am writing this. One bird (both were probably males) had invaded the established territory of another and Mr. Wren Landlord did not take this lightly. He physically attacked the intruder, obviously trying to drive it away. Since the defensive bird dropped to the ground and tried to hide under the cottage, most of the action took place on the ground and in the open where it was easy to observe the battle. Eventually, the intruder flew off at high speed with the local landowner in hot pursuit. I could hear his songs of triumph a moment later.

Had a good look at a skipper spread out on a green leaf a few feet from the ground in full sunshine and quite unafraid of my presence. The lower wing was marked with a bright yellow teardrop patch surrounded by dark brown borders; the forewing was less well marked with a thinner and less regular brown border. Since the Hobomok Skipper breeds only to mid-summer while the Zabulon breeds through the summer to the fall, I'm voting for Zabulon.

Where, by the way, do they get these butterfly names?

Eric Salzman

patches of fog

Patches of fog this morning eventually lifted to reveal summer sunshine. The early birds didn't like it much as they remained rather inactive for most of the duration of my walk.

The Carolina Wren is one of the few birds still singing at this time of the year but it has the peculiar habit of running though a changing repertoire of songs (whereas earlier in the season his songs tended to be quite stereotyped -- the same riffs over and over). Perhaps this late in the season, he is finding it more difficult to find willing partners and is inspired to try a variety of songs in the hope that one of them will work. I should add that this bird does not migrate and, as a year-rounder, tends to nest early and often!

As I was heading back to the house from the pond, a Wild Turkey flock came nibbling and sashaying into view -- out of the woods, across the front of the house (some even hopping up on the deck) and then back into the woods on the other side. This flock seemed a little reduced from earlier flocks with three hens and a dozen almost full-grown poults. The easy way to tell the hens from the chicks is by size (they are still a little larger) but also by their iridescent back feathers which glisten with red and blue (or blue-gray) patches of color in the sun.

Eric Salzman

a possible northern flycatcher and a tiny turtle

A beautiful sun-lit morning with (mostly) no wind. The highlight was a medium-sized flycatcher (smaller than a Kingbird, bigger than a Pewee) leaping from bare snag top to bare snag top. When it flew, it showed white on the side under the wing. A possible Olive-sided Flycatcher; they are early migrants and I had one in mid-August last year. Olive-sided Flycatchers usually hunt and return from snag tops but this one was apparently moving on.

Another half of the remaining Purple Martins seems to have taken off so there are something over a dozen birds left. They'll be going in the few days I suspect.

Northern Waterthrushes seem to be all along the upper marsh edge; difficult to estimate the numbers but there are quite a few. Could not refind the suspected upland Louisiana Waterthrush.

I found a tiny turtle a few days ago. It was, I suppose, a Box Turtle (the only species normally in residence here) but it didn't look like one. It had a high ridge to its upper carapace and very little yellow (none at all on its face and legs). I suppose it's possible that someone dropped off a non-Box Turtle specimen but I suspect the differences are just those between a very young juvenile and the alwyas recognizable but very variable adults. 

Eric Salzman

early fall?

Heavy cloud cover and wet vegetation (it must have rained a fair bit last night). A new bird for the season was a Forster's Tern on the creek flying along with Common and Royal Terns (Least Terns seem to have departed). Forster's is easy to recognize at this time of the year as it is already in fall plumage: a very white-looking bird with a black patch behind the ear.

There are more than two dozen Purple Martins left but they have all left the gourd colony and spend their non-flying time perched in dead branches on the trees back of Bay Avenue (I think they are mainly juveniles but given the light and distance, I can't really tell). They did all suddenly jump into the air in the Purple Martin version of a 'dread' and they remained sky-bound as long as I was watching.

The Red-wing Blackbirds that commanded the marsh-edge vegetation all the way back seem to have entirely abandoned the area, perhaps joining the blackbird flocks that are starting to form (Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles are not long distance migrants but their flocks move around during the cold months). Still in residence though are the Common Yellowthroats, Yellow Warblers and numbers of Gray Catbirds that eat all the Highbush Blueberries before I can get to them (they seem to eat them in the red stage before they actually ripen blue).

Another formerly common bird, now just a sometime visitor, the Eastern Kingbird, was perched high on a snag overlooking the marsh. Eastern Phoebes are still around; they are hardy birds and will stay well into colder weather. A Ruby-crowned Hummingbird female (or juvenile) was buzzing about near the spot where it nested last year. I tried to follow it (in case there was an active nest somewhere in the area) but I soon lost it. A loud 'chink' in the same upland area where there was a waterthrush yesterday suggested that the bird was still here but, once again I couldn't get a good enough look for an ID as it disappeared in the heavy, wet, dark, dank understory foliage.

Insect observations: a Red Admiral sitting on an open bit of sand near the pond; probably a migrant; a Red-spotted Purple spotted by daugher Stephanie on the outer wall of the cottage; lots of annoying no-see-ums on the marsh.

Eric Salzman

visitors

Two birds that were common and regular over the years but then virtually disappeared, dropped by this morning for a visit: Belted Kingfisher and Green Heron. Always glad to see them. I wonder where they are nesting now?

When I walk into or on the edge of the marsh, there is shortly a right-hand turn. At this point, the surrounding shrub layer and tree-front opens up just a bit and you get a look back across the bushes and into the woods. As I come near this spot these days, a very annoyed Great Blue Heron is almost invariably startled off his or her semi-hidden perch and, with angry squawks and croaks, the gawky creature flies over my head and across the creek. This spot often has passerine activity. This morning there were several glowing Yellow Warblers, the usual Song Sparrows, a small family group of House Finches, a House Wren and Goldfinches. In other areas near the marsh, I saw Common Yellowthroat and a migrating Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.

The most unusual bird of the day was a waterthrush in the woods, a fair distance from the water. It stayed quite hidden in vegetation and I could never determine the species. I suspect it was a Louisiana, a bird that I have seen in this area before (and I have never seen Northern Waterthrush any further away from water than the edge of the marsh).

Eric Salzman

passerines and their young

It's only four days since the Purple Martin 'dread' that I described in an earlier post but the colony now appears to be almost completely dispersed with only a half a dozen or so young birds still in the area (mostly observed hunting insects overhead; they will, I suspect, also leave soon).

Yellow Warblers appear to have had a successful breeding season and, as I have observed with other passerines, the adult male and female seem to have divided their progeny between them as they move through the edge vegetation looking for food. I also observed male and female (and perhaps young) American Goldfinches feeding on the Marsh Elder (Iva frutescens) which is coming into seed.

The place is overrun with young Robins. Are they local birds? Robins, like other birds, are moving around post-breeding season. Although we don't think of Robins as exceptionally gregarious, they do flock up in numbers -- sometimes very large numbers -- in the fall and winter.

Eric Salzman

are the Martins getting ready to leave?

Two days after the Town Dock Purple Martin colony exploded in what I am calling a 'dread' -- all the inhabitants suddenly flying up over the colony in a seething mass of apparently disturbed birds -- the birds appear to have largely abandoned the nesting site itself. Most of them, however, are still in the area, either in flight or perched on nearby dead tree limbs. We'll see what happens next.

Most of the birds of the season were present including Great Blue Heron, a flyover Black-crowned Night Heron, Royal Terns, etc. I was surprised to hear a Yellow Warbler singing at the edge of the woods so late in the season. A rather tatty-looking juvenile warbler at the marsh edge was probably a young Yellowthroat. Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles are starting to form flocks and woodland birds, usually led by Chickadees, Titmice and/or Catbirds are starting to move through the woods in feeding flocks.

Eric Salzman

action on sea and land

The creek was exceptionally busy (and noisy) this morning with 5 or 6 Osprey in the air over the creek and at lest two more perched on one of the nests and/or tree limbs --and all of them calling. There are two Osprey pole nests on Pine Neck and I would guess that both of them are successful. Also three terns -- Royal, Common and Least -- occasionally calling and following fish runs into the creek. Not to mention Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, Spotted Sandpiper and many Purple Martins including flying young.

With regard to Purple Martin 'dreads', Bob Murray writes from Westhampton as follows: "I have been the host of a Purple Martin colony for many years and have seen this before. I think it is the prelude to an early departure for South America! My colony would explode and sail around like crazy before returning to the gourds and houses that I had in my back yard on the water." He was commenting on the Purple Martin 'dread' that I observed yesterday morning in the gourd colony -- now several dozen birds -- by the Town Dock just on the far side of our marsh. Bob Adamo suggests that they might be responding to a predator invisible to me such as a snake. Maybe. But these gourds are on slippery poles set in an open grassy area and I suspect that the immanent departure theory may be the right one. 

Land bird activity was at a height as well: lots of Am Robins, at least half of which are young birds with breast spots. An Am Goldfinch singing in short bursts of song fooled me into thinking it was a warbler. All four local woodpeckers were on the scene including the less common Hairy Woodpecker. I had good looks at a male Hairy at eye level showing not only his red spot at the back of his head but also the seldom-noticed puffy buff patches between the substantial bill and his eyes (the Downy has them too but they are much more obvious on the Hairy) plus the entirely white outer tail feathers (the Downy usually has black spots).

Eric Salzman

a Purple Martin 'dread'

The Purple Martin colony by the Town Dock (on the other side of our property) exploded into the air -- seemingly all at once -- early this morning as I was walking out into the marsh. If this were a tern colony, we would call it a 'dread'. My first thought was that there was a raptor in the vicinity but, if so, I never saw it. I don't think it's likely that my presence in the marsh (a good distance away) or the presence of other people in the area (there are people close by every day without seeming to disturb the colony) had anything to do with it. The birds continued to circle and cluster noisily above the colony for at least a quarter of an hour before they slowly began to drift apart and, for the most part, away. If this wasn't raptor response, what was it? Encouragement for the young to get out and up into the air? Some kind of sign of social solidarity? An early signal of impending departure (Purple Martins traditionally leave their breeding site in August)? This species is known to gather in numbers in places like the Pine Barrens (where I have seen them) before undertaking their huge migration to South America.

A while back, Mike Bottini wrote an interesting post asking whether Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have really increased in recent years or if this is just an artifact resulting from the vast increase of bird watchers taking notice. I don't doubt that nesting hummingbirds have increased in substantial numbers on Eastern Long Island and part of the reason is undoubtedly that there are far more flower gardens and more hummingbird feeders in these gardens. But changes in our bird populations are widespread and involve far more than hummingbirds. It's a fascinating subject with important implications (about climate warming for example) and I plan to take it up in more detail in a future post.

Eric Salzman