Right now at the north pinnacle (traditional nesting area) I have at least two singing Worm-eating Warblers, 100 yards apart, so I presume the whole "colony" has returned. Last time I checked was on Friday. There were none. I had Yellow-throated Vireos up here that morning (used to surprise me, but it seems to be an annual occurrence). This morning I can hear them down below, in more typical area along the RR corridor. I watched a pair of Blue Jays gathering fine rootlets (easy to obtain on this over-steepened slope) to line a nest. Also spotted a Xylocopa virginica. I guess there's enough dry, durable dead wood up here to offer nest sites, though they usually prefer an eastern exposure.
Half an hour ago I was in the open grove of white spruces atop Bald Hill (behind the yellow gate), with its Hooded Warblers, Black-throated Blues, Mourning Warblers, Ruffed Grouse and other regular breeders. Saw two Cooper's Hawks: one sub -canopy and another overhead doing what I interpreted as a territorial over-flight. There used to be a territory down the long-abandoned section of Comfort Road, but recent logging down there may have prompted a shift... -Geo -- 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/ --
