5/9/17
Two days in early May:

Baltimore Orioles arrived yesterday in a torrent of melodic chirping. If I remember correctly, Roger Tory Peterson once described Baltimore Oriole vocalizations as the melodious introduction to a song that never actually comes. But when these birds first arrive from their winter quarters, they are in top form -- not only in looks but also in voice. I had the pleasure of watching and listening to two of these males facing off. They were puffing up their bright orange plumage, lifting up their heads to show their sharp threatening beaks and simultaneously unleashing a spray of loud melodious chirps that virtually achieved that melodic status the RTP says never comes! I think the object of all this challenge was not so much to drive the other bird away as to establish borders or invisible fence lines between. In fact the song contest was mostly conducted at a distance so there was no possibility of an actual fight. I did not see a female; do they come later or just wait patiently out of sight until the conflicts are settled?

Two FOS's (both over the creek and first noticed by sound): Fish Crow and Least Terns.

This morning's new bird was a doozy. At 7 am the tide was already quite high (it was coming in) and the water in the marsh had pretty much filled  up the central pond and its outlet flow; the marsh vegetation has barely begun to sprout so the entire marsh floor was in view.  A plump bird with a patterned back, a buffy breast and a triangular yellowish bill. Would a yearling Sora Rail keep its juvenile plumage into May of its second year? That's what it looked like.

Two other FOS's were woodpeckers both first noted by sound: Flicker by its 'kyeer', Hairy by its sharp, distinctive, repeated 'peek' note.This rounds out the list of our summer woodpeckers; Downy, Red-bellied and Northern Flicker are common nesters; Hairy are usually seen and heard later in the season but they are potential nesters here. We still have a lot of standing dead wood and Hairys have nested on Pine Neck directly opposite us. (Once, years ago, I found two Hairy nests on the old entrance road.)  

There were also some swallows around but I'm not quite sure what they were. They were smallish, quite dark against the sky and, aside from the square-tailed silhouette, showed no markings. I would guess Bank or Rough-winged. Haven't seen the more common expected swallows at all.

Eric Salzman