[MDOsprey] Birds 8/1 in Mont. Co.
GAIL@UMDD.UMD.EDU
Mon, 2 Aug 99 08:46:32 EDT
Hi all --
Sunday was also going to be a hot one, so we went out early to River Road,
Seneca and Hughes Hollow looking for what might be around. We hope there might
be a lingering Prairie Warbler but no luck, Chats are also not around or
(at least) staying quiet and in cover. Actually, I think a lot of birds are
in post-breeding dispersal and many are in molt, not the best conditions.
However we managed to see a female Cerulean Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush and
a immature Redstart at Hughes Hollow, and heard a Yellow sing very briefly and
apathetically. In the fields were Field Sparrows, Indigo Buntings and a
couple of White-eyed Vireos who stayed deep in their bushes despite pishing.
Seneca was quiet as a tomb, only one Rough-winged Swallow out over the Water-
stargrass beds (the most extensive I have ever seen, in the '60s drought the
river was too polluted to support submerged vegetation). No warblers or other
neotropical species save a single Phoebe.
Butterflies, on the other hand, were obvious and abundant -- Tiger and
Spicebush Swallowtail, Hackberry Butterfly, Northern Pearlyeye, Silverspotted
Skipper were recorded.
In the pm we went to Sligo Creek Park to look for Veery, which Peter wanted
to see again (he is writing a thrush book). After a lot of hoofing, we located
a pair which came in to the tape, affording excellent looks. However, the
woods were silent, even the Wood Thrushes seem to have been defeated by the
heat and drought.
Gail Mackiernan