The Boreal Pewee

Both yesterday and today I saw a medium-large rather dishevelled flycatcher with a big dark head, few field marks (the barest traces of wing bars), a good-sized beak and a rather short tail (occasionally pumped). Yesterday's bird was hunting close to the ground at the edge of the woods; today's bird was moving from tree-top perch to tree-top perch. Even though it is not supposed to hunt near the ground or, for that matter, wag its tail, I think both birds were Olive-sided Flycatchers, a species that is not so easy to ID in the fall when it is silent. The 'boreal pewee' (a good alternate name for this bird), breeds to the north and comes by twice a year in migration. I only have a few records but I'm sure it's overlooked.

There was a very large collection of birds near the head of the swamp in an area that was badly hit by Sandy. Someone has been cutting into this area from a neighboring property making it more accessible than previously and a major selection of our local birds were either feeding or roosting in the dense thickets that have sprung up in the wake of the hurricane destruction. Among them were all the warblers of recent sightings: Yellow, Yellowthroat, Black-and-White, American Redstart and Northern Waterthrush.

I found a burst of Honey Mushrooms (Armillaria mellea) this morning on one of the trails. Also a few Meadow Mushrooms (Agaricus campestris) as well a few Chanterelles. The Chanterelles are the last of the summer fungi; the others represent a late summer, early fall crop. They'll all go into the dinner pot.

This has not been a particularly good summer for mushrooms, probably due to a relative lack of rain (in spite of the regular passing thunderstorms and many overcast days). However some of the wild flowers have done well. Earlier this year, I noticed a large number of Evening Primrose plants coming up and, when we cut the grass, made sure to avoid cutting them down. These stalks grew up to five and six feet in height before most of them toppled over in a rainstorm; they were top heavy with flower buds but even as the stalks hit the ground, they continued to flower. The result is an amazing burst of these buttery yellow flowers (see picture).

I am currently wrestling with the ID of a pretty blue flowering plant with a cluster of blue stamens jutting out from each flower head. It might be Hyssop otherwise known as Hyssopus officianalis. It's odd that I never noticed it before. Other curious flowering plants are probably garden escapes. A large lily-like yellow flower in an area off one of our right-of-ways (where locals dump garden refuse) is probably a curcubit of some kind (a squash, pumpkin or cucumber type). A ragged composite with large somewhat-sunflower-like flowers and huge pie-shaped leaves is blooming near the blue flower in an area that might once have been gardened; there's nothing like it in the wildflower books.

Eric Salzman

puzzlers

Warm, sunny, humid, dewy, cloudless, windless morning that was spectacularly quiet. The Swallows, Purple Martins and Red-winged Blackbirds that livened up the summer marsh are gone with only Crows and Song Sparrows holding the fort. The few birds seen were puzzlers. A medium-sized accipter was either a female Sharp-shinned or a male Cooper's. An Empidonax flycatcher working the storm-damaged canopy near the head of the marsh was remarkably high in the trees for an empid (perhaps there were more insects to catch up there as the sun hit the treetops). This was a well-marked bird with wing-bars, a twitching tail and a lozenge or tear-shaped eye-ring. If we rule out the possibility of a stray Western-type, this would have to have been either a Least or a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher which, at a distance, can look quite similar (the yellow belly being often hard to see and not particularly yellow on some birds). Finally, there was a big sparrowy bird in the dense shrubbery at the bend of the old right-of-way, a bird that showed something of a crest, a streaked breast and pinkish legs. This was a real show stopper; my best guess would be a young Eastern Towhee.

I got a surprising number of responses to my Beach Plum blog including several recipes -- all variations on a theme. Gigi Spates actually found a Cherry Bounce recipe in Martha Washington's diary that used 'cognac' (whatever that was) instead of rum or vodka and added cinnamon and nutmeg (not my choice). Another recipe (sent in by two different readers!) called for vodka and rock candy (instead of rum and sugar) with Beach Plums in a quart jar but was essentially the same concoction. All the recipes call for shaking things up regularly (this being the source of another folk etymology for the name 'bounce') with the resulting liquor deemed ready at Thanksgiving or (our preference) Christmas. We filled up a gallon jug with Beach Plums, dark rum and some sugar so we should have a very merry Christmas indeed!

Eric Salzman

Bobwhites, Blue-grays and Beach Plum Bounce

Peter Quenell writes me that he saw an adult Northern Bobwhite at the entrance to the Quogue boardwalk reserve. Eileen Schwinn and myself heard a Bobwhite calling persistently in the Tiana Beach area earlier this summer. The possibility that this once-common species may survive on the barrier beach is cheering indeed.

There were at least half a dozen Blue-gray Gnatcatchers working the shrubs and bushes at the edge of the marsh this morning but there were few other migrants. A Belted Kingfisher on the creek and a male Baltimore Oriole -- still in breeding plumage -- were other notable appearances. At this time of year, it is impossible to tell if these birds are locals or migrants.

I spent most of the morning picking Beach Plums for jam, pies and (our specialty) Beach Plum Bounce. There was a fairly good fruiting this year but the plums have ripened a full two weeks early. A sign of climate change or just within the normal range of variability for the species?

But what is Beach Plum Bounce? It is a fruit liquor, originally made with cherries and therefore known as Cherry Bounce; under this name, it goes back to 18th century New England at least and was perhaps known on Eastern Long Island as well (we originally got the recipe from a local). We have made it with Black Cherries and with Blackberries but it works very well with Beach Plums. We thought this was our invention but I have subsequently run across others who have used Beach Plums in similar fashion. The real mystery is the origins of the word 'bounce' as the name of a fruit liguor. It was a common expression two or three centuries ago but has barely survived. This usage does not appear in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) and I have never been able to track down an authoritative etymology. The only explanation that I have ever heard is that if you drink too much of it, it makes you bounce up and down; this is an example of etymology at its worst. My personal theory is that it derives from the French pronunciation (via Quebec into New England) of 'punch', an old word for a fruit liquor commonly used in French as well as old English.

Eric Salzman

Cuckoo sat on the old gum tree

Cuckoo sat on the old gum tree!

A YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO came flying in from somewhere and landed on a branch of one of the Tupelo trees (a.k.a. Pepperidge, a.k.a. Black Gum) at the head of the marsh. Cuckoos have not been common around here since the days of the Gypsy Moth infestations (cuckoos are among the few birds that eat the caterpillars). The bird, after posing for a bit, eventually flew but just moved down a notch onto an open low branch right in front of me; I could see the curved bill with its yellow lower mandible, dark eye with yellow orbital ring, trace of a white eyebrow, snow white breast, brown back, rufous wings and white tips on the edges of the tail. Best view I ever had of this charismatic species.

I did not see the Hooded Warbler again but all the other warblers of the past two days were present and in some numbers: Northern Waterthrushes all along the marsh edge, Yellow and Yellowthroats scattered around, a pair of Prairie Warblers and Black-and-White Warblers all around. Oh yes, a single American Redstart. Many Catbirds, some of them almost surely migrants. Ditto American Robins. All four woodpeckers again plus White-breasted Nuthatch and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.

Eric Salzman

a warbler wave

The first real warbler wave of the year passed through East Quogue this morning with a bright breeding-plumaged male HOODED WARBLER as the star attraction and six other species not far behind: Yellow, Common Yellowthroat (many), Prairie Warblers (at least a couple), Black-and-white (many), Northern Waterthrush and American Redstart (at least several). There may well have been other warblers as well but many of the birds flitting high in the canopy were difficult to pin down. I have had just a handful of Hooded Warbler records over the years; the last one was on September 8 last year.

The warblers were accompanied by Eastern Phoebes (several), at least one Eastern Wood-pewee, surprising numbers of Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers plus the ususal Black-capped Chickadees and Tufted Titmice that typically lead these feeding flocks.

Eric Salzman

late summer/early fall

Our late summer collection of birds includes the woodpecker quadrifecta -- Hairy, Downy, Flicker and Red-bellied; the Hairy and the Downy travel together as if they were a pair (but when they are side-by-side, the size difference stands out). In the warbler category, Northern Waterthrush, American Redstart, Yellow and Common Yellow-throat all showed nicely; missed the Black-and-white. A flock of old and young Cedar Waxwings, perhaps a family, was working its way through the trees at the edge of the marsh and then took over over the creek. Like the American Goldfinches (also seen and heard) these are late nesters. Belted Kingfisher on the creek and Chimney Swift overhead; in the swallow category were Barn and Tree plus Purple Martin. A good-sized accipiter zipping through the trees was probably a Cooper's Hawk; with the exception of the Osprey, this is now the most common raptor in the vicinity. We're now also getting regular nocturnal visits from a Screech Owl which pauses outside our bedroom window and makes sure to alert us to its presence with its ghostly whinnies.

Some of the early fall flowers are beginning to appear: (Perennial?) Salt-marsh Aster, Sea Lavender and Bouncing Bet. And the Evening Primrose in our yard are finally beginning to put on a show.

Eric Salzman

five-warbler morning

Five warblers this morning: Yellow, Yellowthroat, Black-and-white, Northern Waterthrush and American Redstart -- the last-named, the first one I've seen this season (there were actually at least two birds). Also an active empid flycatcher that I could not pin down as to species before it disappeared.

At the same time as our SOFO group was working west from Shinnecock Inlet yesterday, Eileen Schwinn had an ELIAS (Eastern LI Audubon Society) group at Cupsogue (Moriches Inlet). They not only located two Marbled Godwits but also found an unlikely Upland Sandpiper -- 'unlikely' since this odd shorebird usually lives up to its name and hangs out in upland grasslands rather than down at the shore.

The Long Island Native Plant Initiative is holding a Native Plant Symposium at Brookhaven Lab on September 27th and 28th. The notion of gardening with native plants instead of exotic cultivars is an idea whose time has come. The problem has always been getting a hold of native plant stock ("ecotypic native plants") which are, by definition, adapted to local conditions. This, along with other issues of diversity, ecological importance and propagation will be addressed at this symposium. 
More information at or .

Eric Salzman