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Tue, 14 Jun 2011 15:01:04 -0400 |
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Today I had the pleasure of sharing the golden jewels of the Hoover Nature
Preserve with Leslie Sours. This was her first visit to the preserve and
after this morning I doubt it will be her last.
Things started slowly and I feared my guys and gals were not going to
cooperate, but then the world around us turned golden-yellow and the rest of
the morning we were always within sight and sound of Prothonotary Warblers.
My conservative tally was 41 males. The females were busy with maternal
duties in the nest boxes and cavities. Sometimes I think some of the males are
hams at heart as they seem to go out of their way to show off when I have
guests at the preserve. We observed them singing high and low; foraging in
the trees and bushes; gleaning insects from near the water’s surface; and
chasing intruders from their territory, including one bold male that chased
off a Red-bellied Woodpecker.
We walked to the end of the boardwalk to watch the Osprey. The female was
there and the hatchlings were low and hidden. The male flew in with his
catch and up popped three small heads. The triplets vied for their share and
ate with vigor and a general lack of table manners. The male then flew off
and as we walked back along the boardwalk on our way to the parking lot the
male swooped down in the inlet next to the boardwalk and came up with a
fish. Later from the advantage of Area N we watched one of the hatchlings rise
and flap his wings. Someday in the future it will lift off from the nest
platform and begin its exploration of the world around it.
I then began Leslie's tour of the back-forty. We donned boots and began
down the old roadbed stopping at the vernal pool to watch the resident PROW
as he patrolled his territory. As we reached the edge of the reservoir we
were soon surrounded by singing PROWs as we proceeded to where the path was
underwater. We then headed off-trail following my nest box trail into the
swamp forest with PROWs singing everywhere. We were disrupted by
Yellow-billed Cuckoos that mostly teased us as they moved around in the dense foliage.
We then heard crows sounding off as they were mobbing something ahead of
us. It turned out to be a Barred Owl that alit from its perch and made a run
for it with the crows close behind. Leslie then spotted some activity above
us that turned out to be a pair of amorous Great Crested Flycatchers. They
provided us with great views as they came even closer to us. They are
beautiful birds that all too often are hidden in the upper branches. As we got
deeper into the back section of Area N the PROWs got thicker and continued
to put on a delightful show for us.
Leslie spotted activity in a tree ahead of us and discovered a Tufted
Titmouse bringing food to its nest cavity. Near them we found Red-bellied
Woodpecker feeding their fledglings. There was considerable other activity
around us and we finished with a nice group of birds for the morning and I have
listed them below.
Charlie Bombaci
Hoover Nature Preserve
SPECIES LIST
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Green Heron
Turkey Vulture
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
Osprey
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Barred Owl
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Acadian Flycatcher
Willow Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Prothonotary Warbler
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Baltimore Oriole
American Goldfinch
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