Usually 11 warblers on May 10th isn't so exceptional, but this year it felt like a jackpot! Late in the morning there was a (live) BLACK-THROATED BLUE hanging out with two or three BLACK-THROATED GREENS at the northeast corner of the Hoyt Pileated Trail. Initially he sang a weird song partway between BT Blue & BT Green, but then he settled down and did several repetitions of "beer beer brie" and established his identity.
Earlier in the morning I had my first warbler flock of 2013 on the north branch of the Wilson trail, where it splits: 3 or 4 Yellow-Rumps, 2 REDSTARTS, 1 MAGNOLIA, and 1 BLUE-GREY GNATCATCHER, all vocalizing and heading roughly east. There were also singing yellow warblers, orioles, and a house wren all competing for aural attention - it was almost like a regular spring for a moment there! Two VEERIES were "veering" near the shelter on the Wilson Trail; one of them, or possibly a third, obligingly hopped around on a log in front of the netting a little later. A BLACKBURNIAN and another BT GREEN were ar the intersection with the Severinghaus Trail, and a single NASHVILLE was in the trees off Sapsucker Woods Road at the entrance to the East Trail. Not sure if ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS are old news but there was a male singing early in the day north of the north part of the Wilson Trial, and a pair near the intersection of the Woodleton Boardwalk and the Hoyl-Pileated Day, hopping around right on the trail with a pair of Cardinals?! Question re BirdCast: has anyone else noticed the forecast for May 12-18 <http://birdcast.info/forecast/regional-migration-forecast-12-18-may-2013/>? It actually starts with tonight, Friday May 10th, and predicts moderate to heavy migration tonight with possible fallout throughout this area for tomorrow. For real???? Alicia On 5/10/2013 8:34 AM, Chris Pelkie wrote: > Unfortunately almost the first bird of the day was a BLACK-THROATED > BLUE WARBLER who sang once as I stepped out the back door of the lab, > then flew up from a perch probably on our BBQ grill a couple feet from > the windows, smacked it, broke his neck and fell to the ground. I > picked him up hoping for a revival but it was not to be, so he will > soon be an educational device in the skins lab. Seemed to be not quite > in full breeding color. These windows have black see-through curtains > to help cut down bird strikes but they didn't help this time. > > Coming back out after putting him inside, I saw the 2 GREEN HERONs > reported yesterday fly one after the other across the pond to the snag > tree near Sherwood. Also watched one of the nesting GREAT BLUE HERONs > bring a new stick to the nest where it was gratefully accepted by the > mate who raised neck and bill straight up and made the peculiar > throaty noise reserved for such an occasion. > > Walking around the pond got looks at YELLOW-RUMPED and YELLOW > WARBLERs, my FOY MAGNOLIA WARBLER foraging and singing quietly, heard > OVENBIRD, heard and saw HOUSE WREN(s), heard BLACK-THROATED GREEN > WARBLER, thought I might have heard Black-and-white, but when I went > to check the board at the front desk, found that Brad had posted > Blackburnian so maybe I heard a trace of them (not claiming either). 2 > BARN SWALLOWS flew over, and more than one BALTIMORE ORIOLE was > singing. A BLUE-HEADED VIREO was heard a couple times. Singing > BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD, Chickadees, Robins, Titmouse were all noted. > > Highlight though was that while at the base of Sherwood, almost ready > to walk out to the platform where I might have come across the > Kentucky Warbler that Brad and Mary found only a short time earlier (! > drat !), I heard really intense crow mobbing SW of the platform back > in the thicket of pine. After I listened for a bit, I said 'that is > NOT a hawk, it MUST be an owl; oh boy, these guys might have found me > a Barred Owl!". So I had to go all the way around by the bench, then > to the trail fork onto West Trail, the mobbing getting more intense as > I got closer. Scanning high and low and realizing the mob was down in > the thick part, I finally raised glasses and 50 yds away saw in full > front view on a branch, the GREAT HORNED OWL looking back at me. A few > seconds later, one of the crows, literally sitting 2' away on a > branch, lunged at the owl and everyone flew off into the forest. > ______________________ > * > * > *Chris Pelkie > Research Analyst > Bioacoustics Research Program > Cornell Lab of Ornithology > 159 Sapsucker Woods Road > Ithaca, NY 14850* > > -- > *Cayugabirds-L List Info:* > Welcome and Basics <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME> > Rules and Information <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES> > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > <http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> > *Archives:* > The Mail Archive > <http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html> > Surfbirds <http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds> > BirdingOnThe.Net <http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html> > *Please submit your observations to eBird > <http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>!* > -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
