I hiked off-trail below the South Hill Rail Trail near the Burns Rd. entrance this afternoon between 1::00 and 3:00 PM. I had two encounters with birds I've never heard singing in those woods. One was a Hermit Thrush singing sporadically in tall timber on the edge of a gorge. About an hour later I had a Hooded Warbler singing persistently in another area about 1/4 mile away from the thrush . With no encouragement from me the Hooded came down to check me out and we made naked-eye contact. I watched him sing for a few minutes and observed some brief aerobatic interactions with another bird. A singing Tufted Titmouse and a foraging Red-eyed Vireo were nearby so it could have been either one of them, or maybe...I'd like to think... it was a Hooded female. I've had both these species in the area in the past but never singing as if on territory. I'd be interested in any observations anyone might have suggesting either of these species might be regular breeders in the lower Six-mile Basin. If anyone (the June counter for this area?) wants to know how to find the exact location for these birds please contact me off-list.
Thanks...Stuart -- 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/ --
