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