I found a couple of target birds this weekend (BROWN THRASHER at entrance of Edwards Lake Cliff Preserve on Sunday, three HERMIT THRUSHES along the East Trail in Sapsucker Woods on Saturday). But the best moments came from common species doing uncommon things.
* Along the Woodleton Boardwalk on Saturday, I watched a female American Robin repeatedly issuing an unfamiliar * kheeeeeeee *. Later I found a study saying that robins make this sound specifically when they see aerial predators. This surprised me because I felt certain that I had triggered the call, given how this bird and her mate fixed their gaze on me the whole time. I flatter myself that a bird might think I’m a predator, but I am 100 percent sure that no one would ever mistake me as aerial. So maybe the paper’s conclusion is wrong. Or maybe there was a hawk or owl perched nearby, seen by the birds but not by me. It was all very mysterious and enlightening. But mainly that sound was just beautiful – long, luminous, extremely high, exquisitely pianissimo. It was as if she were a violinist coaxing a pristine final note out of her E string, fragile and tender and masterly, while I listened from my seat in a hushed concert hall. * Several of the eponymous Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers of Sapsucker Woods have found fantastic resonant substrates to bang on. Maybe the best is a hollow cylinder of a former tree near the East Trail gate. Today a male had been knocking loudly here for a while, when a white-throated sapsucker with a brownish back flew in to the top of the trunk, about six feet above. The white-throated bird double-tapped, paused for a long time, then double-tapped again. The red-throated male stayed silent and still, eyeing the bird above, then let out another full stuttering, slowing cadence. The white-throated bird responded with a full decelerating phrase. Then the first bird chased the second one out of view. At the time I wasn’t sure what all this meant. I knew that female sapsuckers have white throats, but I didn’t remember whether first-spring male sapsuckers ever also have white throats. I also wasn’t sure if female sapsuckers ever drum. As I watched, I thought that maybe the red-throated male might be similarly confused. Was this a rival male, not yet in his full colors? Or was it an interested potential mate? A little research reveals that the most likely answer is neither. Apparently the white throat does definitively indicate a female. Females do sometimes drum. So when this female flew in, the male was probably thinking, “Either she wants me, or she wants this drumming surface for herself.” Too bad for him this time. * The green pond by the shelter on the East Trail always seems to have Wood Ducks in it. Today I managed to approach very slowly without flushing one female. She drifted in the open water, issuing single “hwaak” notes. Eventually she flew up to a branch, where she bowed forward a few times and issued an unfamiliar, more forced sound. More reading indicates that these vocalizations signal availability to potential mates. She did seem a little lonely. Finally, an off-topic note – the trails of the Edwards Lake Cliff Preserve were rife with big beautiful snails on Sunday morning. Miyoko and I found more than 150 of them without even looking very widely or carefully. As Miyoko said, it was like an Easter egg hunt, but even better. Mark Chao -- 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/ --
