a N Waterthrush flight

Alan Baratz tells me that Prospect Park in Brooklyn had its first Northern Waterthrush of the season yesterday morning. That tells me that there was most likely a flight of this species overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday from its northern breeding grounds.

Young or fledgling Downy Woodpeckers attacking some of our extensive standing dead wood. Easily identified by their red caps which they hold only in their juvenile state.

Lots of butterflies flickering about and fast moving in the heat -- too fast to ID with a couple of exceptions: a Monarch and a comma, probably a Question Mark.

Eric Salzman

midsummer trifecta

I was planning to do a walk this morning but even as early as 8 am it was hot, hot, hot (most of the circuit is in full sunlight) so I thought I would try another approach. I moved one of the chairs that I keep by the pond a short distance into the shade where it was facing the wooded area between the pond and the house (the tide was quite high so there were no muddy edges in the pond -- the usual source for early-morning avian life). This was going to be The Big Sit.

Sure enough, almost immediately I picked up two or three Green Herons, a White-breasted Nuthatch and the usual collection of titmice and chickadees. An auspicious start for The Big Sit. Then, nothing. Suddenly there was a dink...dink...dink from the Red Cedar directly in front of me. Even without my binoculars I could see a small yellow- or cream-colored, streaky bird bouncing up and down on a branch like a child's toy. The first Northern Waterthrush of the season!

This completes the trifecta of midsummer arrivals that come every year like clockwork in mid- to late July: Royal Tern, Spotted Sandpiper and, now, Northern Waterthrush. These are not true migrants but might be called summer residents: the terns moving up from their southern strongholds, the sandpiper from who knows where (a few probably breed somewhere on the bay) and the Waterthrush from north of us. Each of these species will hang out for a while with us before moving on to winter quarters.

Eric Salzman

Green Herons just out of the nest!

Three fledgling Green Herons appeared this morning along with two adults (presumably their parents). These prehistoric-looking creatures make the dinosaur-bird connection entirely plausible. Their gawky, crested, streaked-neck appearance with greenish legs, heavy straight bill and fuzzy down on top of the head suggested birds just barely out of the nest. They seemed to be barely able to hang on to their perches or to fly from one branch to another but that didn't prevent them from being feisty and openly squabbling with each other! The family was in, on or by the pond when I first came down but, using the dead trees at marsh edge, they gradually worked their way ahead of me to the top of the marsh.

Royal Terns continue to fly up and down the creek, outnumbering even the gulls, Spotted Sandpipers continue around the muddy pond edges and both Yellow Warblers and young Yellowthroats can be seen working the low vegetation back of the marsh. A Tree Swallow and a Chimney Swift were flying with the Purple Martins and Barn Swallows over the marsh.

Eric Salzman

owl duet

Last night as we finished our barbecue and were searching the darkening sky for bats (didn't see any), two owls suddenly started a hooting duet from the trees in front of the house (between the house and the pond). These were rhythmic hoots in the form of a canon or a round and one of the birds had a clearly higher pitch range than the other, strongly suggesting a male-female duet. This remarkable concert of owl music went on for a bit as we sat transfixed.

Although these hoots were not as deep as those of a typical Great Horned Owl and we never actually saw the birds, Great Horned was the most likely species -- possibly two younger birds whose hoots had not yet matured! No other owl has quite this pattern of hooting. Great Horned Owl is a typical species of the Pine Barrens but, on occasion, the birds do come down here near the water. Also, although this is early in the season, it is not impossible for mating activity to start in late summer (the birds have been known to nest as early as late fall or early winter with young appearing in February or March).

I was hoping that the Blue Jays or Crows would find the bird roosting this morning but no such luck.

Eric Salzman

mystery flycatcher and bodacious blackbirds

There's a somewhat mysterious flycatcher hanging around at the edge of the woods facing the pond and marsh, generally remaining quite high in dead branches. This bird should be an Eastern Phoebe but its head is not particularly dark and it doesn't seem to wag its tail very much -- if at all. There's no particular breast markings that I can see nor is the breast at all yellowish or cream colored as one often sees on juvenile Eastern Phoebes. Size and the lack of wing bars seem to preclude pewees or empids. So, going on the general structure -- big head, bull neck, long dark tail -- and adding in the likely odds, it would have to be an Eastern Phoebe.

Two Yellow Warblers are still covering the lower parts of the woodland edge and the peep-peep-peep of the Spotted Sandpiper can still be heard from the pond and marsh edges.

A male and a female Red-winged Blackbird attacked me as I made my way around the marsh edge. They came swooping down at the intruder (me), pulling up just short of hitting and making a startling noise as they veered off -- quite a striking display. Two other birds hanging back in dead branches were likely young of the year which would account for this highly aggressive behavior. I've had male Red-wings defending territory in the past but this was the first time that I have had both sexes on the attack.

Eric Salzman

herons to hummingbirds

There are now at least three or four Great Blue Herons summering on the creek along with Spotted Sandpipers and Royal Terns. Also at least one juvenile Night-Heron (probably Black-crowned). Green Herons still active and apparently nesting somewhere in the treetops. No sign of the Willets which were so omnipresent earlier in the summer.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird reappeared in the same area where it was seen a few days ago -- just back of the west bank of the pond. Also in the low vegetation that has sprung up in this area since Hurricane Sandy: Yellow Warbler. A group of Downy Woodpeckers on a dead Pitch Pine provided the first evidence of Downy reproduction this season; the young birds were obviously clumsy and still dependent on the adults (this was a rather late fledging for this species). White-breasted Nuthatches still a prominent member of the local avifauna along with the inevitable Titmice and Chickadees.

Eric Salzman

a juvenile Spotted Sandpiper

This morning's Spotted Sandpiper was a juvenile (no spots) leading to the conclusion that there are at least two Actitis macularius around. Also some scattered Royal Terns on the creek and at least one Snowy Egret with the Greats. House Wrens are everywhere; these are, I expect, mostly the young of the year but there are probably some adults mixed in (I'm not sure I can tell the young ones from the adults).

Eric Salzman