Wahoooo Gail and Norm now thats what im talking about . Man is the problem .
Saundra and all,
Yes, Norm and Gail are right. I shouldn't get so worked up when I see
one of my favorite warblers being victimized. I should learn to accept it,
like I did yesterday when I didn't cry on top of that mountain. Took it
well. In fact I'm going to go out right now and hug the first cowbird I see.
Gosh, I hope I don't hug it too tight. ;-)
On another note, weather permitting, I am going to go back to Sugarloaf
tomorrow and try to locate some more Worm-eaters. If anybody wants to help,
I will be at the main gate ~6 AM. The focus will likely be on the Yellow
Trail that skirts the base of the mountain. It's sort of long (7 miles) so
I'm not going to try to do it all. I'm not real optimistic because I think
the better habitat is more toward the top(s). I have spare maps so if
anybody shows, they can plot the location of the birds.
On the subject of habitat up there, somebody criticized the understory
or lack there of. I agree that much of the mountain suffers from "understory
openness" or whatever we want to call it. However there is a lot of stuff
like Mountain Laurel around and although it is patchy, there is enough to
interest the birds. And that is mainly where I am finding singing wormeatage
(yes, Jerry invents words). Admittedly if there were more of it I would have
found a Kentucky up there yesterday. I didn't have any Hoodeds either, but I
think I have heard them back along the section of the Yellow Trail that I
skipped because I stuck with the Blue Trail. Veery are another
understory-dependant that seems to be missing on Sugarloaf.
I applaud the Strong family or whoever it is that made this mountain a
sanctuary. They deserve sainthood in my book. But maybe somebody ought to
talk them into permitting a limited deer hunt. Much as the idea of blasting
deer bothers me almost as much as watching warblers feed cowbirds, I have
noticed that where they blast deer, the understory thrives.
Jerry Tarbell
Carroll County |