Every Tuesday, I do field work here at SERC in Edgewater. First thing in the morning, I climb the 120 foot meterological tower and switch out collection bottles and glassware for rainwater mercury. Once I get that done, I drive around SERC to three stream samplers and, if it's rained, switch out collection bottles. Since it didn't rain enough last week to make any of the streams flow, it was just driving around changing batteries and birdwatching!

Usually it takes me 20 minutes to climb the tower, dump data onto a PDA from a digital rain gauge, switch bottles and climb back down. Today, there was a flurry of migrants so it took me 40 minutes. Best bird was a Blue-headed Vireo that was below me when I was at the 70 foot landing. Probably the most prolonged, close look at one every. It sat on a branch in the sun cocking its head and looking at me looking down on it. I guess it finally figured I wasn't a threat and went back to foraging. Wish I'd had a camera.
 
Tyler Bell

California, Maryland

Location:    Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Observation date:    10/7/08
Notes:    weekly tower climb to change out sample collection bottle and glassware
Number of species:    23

Canada Goose    12
Black Vulture    4
Turkey Vulture    2
Chimney Swift    5
Red-bellied Woodpecker    1
Downy Woodpecker    1
Blue-headed Vireo    1
Red-eyed Vireo    1
Blue Jay    2
Carolina Chickadee    2
Tufted Titmouse    3
White-breasted Nuthatch    1
Golden-crowned Kinglet    7
Eastern Bluebird    2
Swainson's Thrush    1
Cedar Waxwing    25
Black-throated Green Warbler    1
Pine Warbler    2
Black-and-white Warbler    2
Scarlet Tanager    1
White-throated Sparrow    2
Northern Cardinal    2
American Goldfinch    5

Location:    Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Observation date:    10/7/08
Notes:    stream sampling sites throughout SERC property
Number of species:    29

Black Vulture    9
Turkey Vulture    6
Red-shouldered Hawk    1
Red-tailed Hawk    1
Mourning Dove    1
Red-bellied Woodpecker    9
Downy Woodpecker    3
Hairy Woodpecker    2
Northern Flicker    1
Red-eyed Vireo    3
Blue Jay    8
American Crow    2
Carolina Chickadee    3
Tufted Titmouse    4
White-breasted Nuthatch    2
Carolina Wren    1
Golden-crowned Kinglet    2
Gray Catbird    1
Pine Warbler    1
Black-and-white Warbler    2
American Redstart    1
Ovenbird    1
Eastern Towhee    2
White-throated Sparrow    3
Northern Cardinal    8
Indigo Bunting    1
Red-winged Blackbird    2
Common Grackle    250
American Goldfinch    3

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)