Sunday, July 08, 2007

Wrapping up the breeding atlas, noticing the change

Roana and I went atlassing one last time to wrap up the majority of "safe dates" for most of the breeding birds in our state. We drove through a block in Havice Valley this time, to try to get as many birds as possible for this year's reports. I didn't take my camera, as the battery was almost dead--I really regret that because I saw some great birds!

The block was beautiful, featuring mostly wooded areas with a few small clearings and some Amish farms. We saw 50 different species, but the most notable for me were Blackburnian warbler, magnolia warbler, and a ruby-throated hummingbird just hanging out on a snag and then an electrical wire. I finally got to see the Blackburnian and magnolia, both at once; the Blackburnian was just going about his business, hawking for insects and enjoying the morning sun, but the magnolia was displaying some morning grumpiness. As a result, neither was too hard to spot, and we got some great views. Oh, what I would've given for my scope and camera! The Blackburnian was as beautiful as I'd imagined he'd be, displaying what the Stokeses call his "fiery orange throat," and the magnolia's pronounced black breast striping showed him to be a male as well. We watched them for a while, hardly believing our luck.

I continued my quest to actually SEE a common yellowthroat, but I was unsuccessful; I did see a striking indigo bunting, a beautiful male Eastern towhee, and a giant great blue heron who had perched on a snag near Penns Creek. For a July atlassing trip, we did pretty well, according to Roana, so I was very pleased.

Another thing I've been noticing lately is the changing behavior of the birds. I've been seeing great flocks of them, flying in long chains, all over the valley. I read somewhere, maybe on the Stokes' blog?, that these flocks gather to prepare for the upcoming fall migration.

Seeing those flocks, and listening to Roana say things like, "we'll have to remember this spot for next year," made me feel like the spring and summer have flown by. It doesn't seem like that long ago that I was taking photos of winter birds around my feeders in the snow. I was looking forward to the spring migration, the Oil Creek birding festival, and seeing tons of warblers. Now, after watching that spring migration's beautiful fallouts of warblers at Oil Creek and elsewhere, I'm seeing most of the birds around here watching their young take flight on their own paths, wrapping up all that breeding behavior until next year and putting on the fat stores that will sustain them on their flight southward. The cycle of the seasons continues, never stopping to let me catch my breath.

3 comments:

Mary said...

What a cool day! You don't even need photos, Delia. I am nothing without my camera and you just rock with info!

Can you e-mail me, please? I have a question.

maryferr at carolina dot rr dot com

Kathi said...

Hi, Delia, I found you through Susan Gets Native and have tried to comment before, but Blogger and my super-slow dial-up connection don't always want me to talk to other people.

Two thoughts on your "birding by ear" post:

The first call you described, that ends with a Swamp Sparrow-like trill. Have you considered Field Sparrow? The song starts out with a few clear, individual notes, then escalates to a trill. It has been described as the sound you get when you bounce a Ping-Pong ball on a table. Just an idea.

Two, for your quest to see a Common Yellowthroat - Learn to pish. Common Yellowthroats are easily pished into view. I can get one to pop up 8 times out of 10, and most birds just sit in the bushes and snicker at my poor pishing skills.

Purse your lips together and send short blasts of air through your partially clenched teeth. Groups of three are good. Vary the pitch, tone and duration. "psshh, Psshh, PSSSHHT!" Try it - you will feel like a fool, but it works. Other birds that respond well to pishing are chickadees, titmice, white-throated sparrows.

Good birding!

~Kathi

dguzman said...

Mary, did you get my email? I'll send another in case it got stuck in your spam filter....

Katdoc, welcome! Well, I'm pretty familiar with the field sparrow song, so I know it wasn't that. I wish I could hear the call again; maybe I'll drive that route again sometime. And thank you for the lesson on pishing--I always wondered if you said "pIsh" or "psh," and if you did it in a rhythm or just once, or whatever--now I know! Thanks again!