New birds



As far as I can discover, this is an unamed creek that eventually flows into Bermudian Creek

In this area, the second week of May is the prime time for wood warblers. I haven’t found many on Roundtop Mtn. yet this year. But it’s not just wood warblers that appear, though they are considered the crown jewels to eastern birders. I’ve had a very loud great crested flycatcher whooping its way along the lane for the past few days. One Baltimore oriole in particular sings so much, so loudly and so close by that I can truthfully say I’d be happy to see him move another 100 yards from the cabin. The eastern wood pewees have also arrived, one of the last of the summer residents.

Their call is one of my favorites, right up there with the admittedly more melodic song of the wood thrush. The pewee is the earliest and latest song I hear each day. Its first call of the day typically starts around 4:30 a.m., when even the barest hint of dawn is still a good 45 minutes away. I’ve heard the call after 9:30 p.m., long after the last hint of paleness in the sky is gone. But like the wood thrush, the pewee’s call almost echoes through the woods. Somehow that tiny little bird fills the entire forest with its long drawn out peeee-a-weeeee.

Another kind of bird has also arrived at my cabin, too—a two-year old Rhode Island red rooster. A fox took another of my hens, almost literally right from under my nose during broad daylight. The girls were outside running around the cabin while I was moving their pen. I went inside for a pair of scissors, and suddenly one was taken. It happened so quickly the fox must have been watching while I was outside. So now I’ve acquired a “protector” for the girls. If he does his job as roosters are supposed to do, I’m hoping that will be the last hen I lose to Ms. Fox. So far, the girls are not amused. And I’m not sure I’m ready for the 4:45 a.m. wake-up call he so thoughtfully provided this morning.