Folks

Yesterday I took a brief 2 hour walk down a power line in one of my atlas blocks, 1545 - Piscataway - SW.  Power lines can be real good for certain species.  The undergrowth was between four and 10 feet.  Hopefully it will remain this way.  The edge was some good size trees, mixed evergreen and deciduous.  Lots of Sumac and Blackberries.  Might produce some healthy chicks.

The following were observed or heard

Buteo sp. - flushed before ID could be confirmed.
Wild Turkey female
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - calling
Chimney Swift overhead
Red-bellied Woodpecker - several pair
Hairy Woodpecker - one pair chasing each other
Pileated Woodpecker - calling
Acadian Flycatcher - several
Great-crested Flycatcher - several
White-eyed Vireo - on territory - at least four
Red-eyed Vireo - singing
Blue Jay - flyover
Am. Crow 
Carolina Wren - singing
Eastern Bluebird - overhead
Wood Thrush - singing on territory?
Gray Catbird - singing
European Starling
Black & White Warbler - one singing
Ovenbird - singing at several locations
Common Yellowthroat - numerous
Yellow-breasted Chat - several singing along the way.
Scarlet Tanager - several pairs
Eastern Towhee - many calling, singing, and one displaying to a female, tail fanned, wings fanned giving a short raspy call.  Got my attention.
Field Sparrow - singing 
Northern Cardinal - many pairs
Blue Grosbeak - one calling from the top of a dead snag
Indigo Bunting - too many to count and doing all kinds of things.
Orchard Oriole - first year male singing.
Brown-headed Cowbird - at least four males, calling, flying overhead.
House Finch - singing
Goldfinch - singing, etc.

Butterflies along the way:

Tiger Swallowtail
Red-spotted Purple
Cabbage White
Viceroy - lots
American Lady
Great-spangled Fritillary
Pearl Crescent
A few duskeywings but I did not take the time to work on these.
A few more cryptic skippers.  That is also later

Dragonflies of note were Eastern Pond Hawk and Common Whitetail, the later by the billions.


Now to enter the data.  Most of these should now be in safe dates, but check before you enter the data.

Atlas on!

George