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Re: Rock Creek addendum 5/17/07

From:

Gerald & Laura Tarbell

Reply-To:

Gerald & Laura Tarbell

Date:

Thu, 17 May 2007 11:52:17 -0400

Derek said:
There was some question as to whether one of the Kentuckys sounded more like
Mourning, but nothing definitive.

All,
    The two songs are similar except that the Mourning adds an extra phrase
that to my ear sounds like "da-dey-o" at the end of its "Hurry, hurry,
hurry".

Speaking of which, I had a nice look at  Kentucky this AM at Morgan Run. It
was in an area along one of the tribs to the main stream that had a few
Hoodeds on it up until about 10 years ago. They instituted a limited deer
season (bow and musket only) and perhaps the understory is making enough of
a comeback to suit these understory-hungry birds. Much of Morgan Run still
looks like somebody swept the forest floor with a big vacuum cleaner. Makes
it easy to spot the deer, but leaves little else to look for. For those who
know Morgan Run, the KEWA was on the trail to the right at the old red metal
barn as you head down the main trail toward the stream. If you reach the old
corn crib, you passed it.

I also found a singing Veery today. This is another bird that isn't as
common here as it could be if there were more understory.

The brushy areas that used to be open fields hold a good supply of Prairies
and Blue-wings, Yellowthroats, Thrashers, Catbirds, Field Sparrows, and
Chats. Got a nice look at 2 of those today. And today there were 2 Willow
Flycatchers out there with them. This is a new addition to the old fields.
There were a couple pair along the creek at Old Washington Road a few years
ago but I haven't been to that part in quite a while.

The only notable migrants today were Blackpolls. Which tells us migration is
winding down. Blackpolls are usually the last things thru. The
Black-throated, Blackburnian, Magnolia, etc. gang seems to be declining.
(Sniff)

And now the big news. I had my second-ever Orange Variant of the Scarlet
Tanager. Laura and I had one at Deep Creek Lake about 15 years ago. It was
in a tree right next to the lake along Rt 219 and at first we thought it was
another Oriole. There were several of those around at the time, too. Then we
realized that it didn't have any black on the head and the black on the
wings was missing the wing bars. Today I had one singing on a trail to the
right off of what I call "Piccadilly Circus" - the point at the end of the
second old field where about eight trails meet. This plumage warrants a
special note by Sibley on p 356 of the field guide and is also shown on p
463 of the Sibley Guide to Birds.

Jerry Tarbell
Carroll County