Following the most outlying trails from shelter 3 to shelter 4, those that border the fields and touch the northern edge of the park, I came across a male E. towhee calling stridently, in a very exposed position, right beside the path as it approaches the area of shelter 4. It's position-shifts indicated it was following my movements.
Soon a female's voice joined the cry, though she remained less visible. She darted from the woods, crossing the path, landed in a small tree, then dropped into the tall grass of the field, close by the trail. Just once, the male dropped down in the same vicinity, before resuming his perch and continuing his alarm. Seeing no sign of a predator, I assumed I was simply too close to their nest. A quick visual check of both the wooded and field sides revealed none, and it seemed best to leave the towhees in peace. However, a rustling, low in the shrubs on the wooded side, soon explained their agitation: a fledgling was perched there, about a foot off the ground. Its soft, brown streaks and speckles against a creamy tan background had only the hint of its future russet and chestnut patches, with a bit of pronounced darker markings in the tail. It still looked slightly fluffy. It was definitely seeming very uncertain of its next move, looking toward the area where its parents were. It would not be surprising if its siblings were also scattered, on either side of the trail, and the adults were trying to herd them to safety for feeding. It seemed best not to further stress the birds by trying to confirm that. Just before entering the towhee territory, the path passes close by a fence that forms the park's north border, with a grassy field on the other side. I thought I heard Henslow sparrows calling there, and wonder if anyone has heard or seen them in those tall grasses. Linda Whyte ---- Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
