a rail calls, a cowbird is fed and a walk is planned

As is my usual practice, I began my morning walk by heading straight down to the pond and plopped myself down in the chair that I keep there. Almost immediately, the Clapper Rail began a series of loud keks seemingly right next to the chair but inside some of the reeds that border the pond. As has happened before, the rail was probably a bit further away than I thought -- perhaps in a slightly different set of reeds a feet across the neck of the pond. But, as before, I could not see him or even glimpse a bit of movement in the reeds; either he was able to slip around the reeds without making them move or, perhaps more likely, he was actually calling from the channel which is difficult to peer into.

A Black-crowned Night Heron and the usual Great Egrets and slightly-less-great Willets flew up -- the normal quotient of waders in the pond these low-tide days.

My major avian observation of the day was perhaps a little less delightful: a Cowbird fledgling being fed by a pair of Song Sparrows! And, as usual, I heard what I think was a Warbling Vireo song but could only get a bare glimpse of the bird -- not quite enough to clinch the ID.

I'm doing another official walk in the Vineyard Field in back of the South Fork Natural History Museum (SOFO) on Sunday, July 2nd. We'll meet at 8 am directly in back of SOFO and do a circuit around the field, listening and looking for birds. As many of you know, I'm a composer and do a lot of my Birding By Ear which is, in fact, the name of the program/walk. If you plan to come, please contact SOFO by phone (631-537-9735) or by e-mail (sofo@hamptons.com). If you want a little more information, go to the SOFO web site and check the calendar of events.

Hope to see you there!

Eric Salzman