Accipiter91
Well-known member
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Although the weather was mild for November, the wind was blowing and a light rain was falling so I was not expecting to see many birds moving around. However, after being absent from the woods for about two weeks I could not wait any longer so I had to go. Now I know why they don't pay me to think...the swamp was a flurry of bird activity. Yellow-rumped Warblers foraged in the treetops alongside Carolina Chickadees. Woodpeckers of all sizes were busy foraging in the trees and on the ground. The largest species being the Pileated Woodpecker. I watched a male Pileated (I am happy to say there are pics below!) forage on a snag working from the bottom to the top. As I tried to move in closer he flew to the top of a tree where he was joined by another Pileated Woodpecker (I am assuming his mate of the previous year) and a Hairy Woodpecker. Hairy Woodpeckers have been known to follow Pileated Woodpeckers and forage alongside them cleaning up any ants or other insects the larger woodpeckers may have missed so this was pretty cool. In addition I also watched a White-breasted Nuthatch caching food in a hollowed out stub of a tree branch. Recently I have read numerous reports that the Red-breasted Nuthatch along with other Northern species will be probing farther South this winter as the result of a failed Canadian seed crop so I have been looking hard for the Nuthatch. I thought I had found it when I saw a small bird spiraling UP a tree trunk but I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered it was a Brown Creeper! I was not expecting it to be a Brown Creeper because I had always thought they foraged closer to the ground not in the tree tops. The surprises were not over yet! I was walking back through the swamp and noticed this small blue bird foraging in the brush. As I got closer the bird popped out of the brush over my head and I noticed that only the head was blue....a Blue-headed Vireo! The funny thing is that I had read about the Vireo that morning and just happened to see it! Despite the two lifers and the pics of the Pileated Woodpecker, the best part of the trip occured on the way home. In the brush alongside the trail were atleast four or five Hermit Thrushes singing their haunting flute-like song in unison. I had seen these birds before but never heard them sing. In addition there were two Thrushes chasing each other around. They would both land after a while and resume the chase on foot. This show included much foot tapping, tail pumping and wing fanning. All the while other Thrushes sang as if cheering the two fighters on. Sometimes the birds would fly by so close that I could have caught one if I had been fast enough! All in all a very good trip but now I am about to go back out to the swamp so wish me luck!
Until next time, see you later!:flyaway:
Species Observed
Carolina Chickadee
Turkey Vulture
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Blue-headed Vireo L
Northern Flicker
Hairy Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Brown Creeper L
White-breasted Nuthatch
Hermit Thrush
Golden-crowned Kinglet (this is the first time I have ever seen these and not seen Ruby-crowned Kinglets)
Northern Cardinal
White-throated Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Gray Squirrel
Carolina Anole
Although the weather was mild for November, the wind was blowing and a light rain was falling so I was not expecting to see many birds moving around. However, after being absent from the woods for about two weeks I could not wait any longer so I had to go. Now I know why they don't pay me to think...the swamp was a flurry of bird activity. Yellow-rumped Warblers foraged in the treetops alongside Carolina Chickadees. Woodpeckers of all sizes were busy foraging in the trees and on the ground. The largest species being the Pileated Woodpecker. I watched a male Pileated (I am happy to say there are pics below!) forage on a snag working from the bottom to the top. As I tried to move in closer he flew to the top of a tree where he was joined by another Pileated Woodpecker (I am assuming his mate of the previous year) and a Hairy Woodpecker. Hairy Woodpeckers have been known to follow Pileated Woodpeckers and forage alongside them cleaning up any ants or other insects the larger woodpeckers may have missed so this was pretty cool. In addition I also watched a White-breasted Nuthatch caching food in a hollowed out stub of a tree branch. Recently I have read numerous reports that the Red-breasted Nuthatch along with other Northern species will be probing farther South this winter as the result of a failed Canadian seed crop so I have been looking hard for the Nuthatch. I thought I had found it when I saw a small bird spiraling UP a tree trunk but I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered it was a Brown Creeper! I was not expecting it to be a Brown Creeper because I had always thought they foraged closer to the ground not in the tree tops. The surprises were not over yet! I was walking back through the swamp and noticed this small blue bird foraging in the brush. As I got closer the bird popped out of the brush over my head and I noticed that only the head was blue....a Blue-headed Vireo! The funny thing is that I had read about the Vireo that morning and just happened to see it! Despite the two lifers and the pics of the Pileated Woodpecker, the best part of the trip occured on the way home. In the brush alongside the trail were atleast four or five Hermit Thrushes singing their haunting flute-like song in unison. I had seen these birds before but never heard them sing. In addition there were two Thrushes chasing each other around. They would both land after a while and resume the chase on foot. This show included much foot tapping, tail pumping and wing fanning. All the while other Thrushes sang as if cheering the two fighters on. Sometimes the birds would fly by so close that I could have caught one if I had been fast enough! All in all a very good trip but now I am about to go back out to the swamp so wish me luck!
Until next time, see you later!:flyaway:
Species Observed
Carolina Chickadee
Turkey Vulture
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Blue-headed Vireo L
Northern Flicker
Hairy Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Brown Creeper L
White-breasted Nuthatch
Hermit Thrush
Golden-crowned Kinglet (this is the first time I have ever seen these and not seen Ruby-crowned Kinglets)
Northern Cardinal
White-throated Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Gray Squirrel
Carolina Anole
