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