A woodland curtain surrounds the meadow. Where they meet makes an interface between two environments. Such places provide rich bird-watching opportunities. The little mown path leading along this border hosts my Big Sit. That's where I try to keep an eye out for quick movements in both venues.
Eastern Phoebe |
Some birds like this Phoebe, a type of flycatcher, use the fringe as a survey and launch station for pursuing insects over the meadow.
Least Flycatcher |
Its relative the Least Flycatcher is more at home hunting mid-canopy through the trees.
Red-eyed Vireo |
Red-eyed Vireos spend most of their time in the upper crown. Something unusual brought this one down to my eye level.
Blue-headed Vireo |
The typical songbird plumage on the wings and body of a Blue-headed Vireo shifts into a slaty backdrop for its bizarre eye rings with a tropical touch.
Eastern Towhee |
The Towhee's plumage brings that exotic look to Halibut Point all spring and summer.
Dark-eyed Junco |
Juncos, on the other hand, are seen primarily early and late in the year, usually in sparrow-like flocks on the ground. Their simple feather pattern and pert yellow beak make a smile-worthy sight at close range.
Indigo Bunting |
Male Indigo Buntings, one of the spectacles of the breeding season, spend the rest of the year garbed in sensible earthy hues.
Yellow-rumped Warbler |
Yellow-rumped Warblers similarly tone down their appearance except for that eponymous blaze on their rear ends.
Carolina Wren |
Carolina Wrens can be counted on to warm the woodlands year round with their thumb-sized flashes of color and out-sized vocalizations, "Teacher-teacher-teacher."
Hermit Thrush |
The names of the preceding birds give clues about their characteristics and habits. The Hermit Thrush, a bird of dense forest understory, may be named for its retiring though not secretive ways. A few of them will stay in the area for the winter, switching their diets from insects to subsist on berries, in the manner of another cold-hardy migrant, the Yellow-rumped Warbler. This versatile adaptation gives the species a boost as well as added pleasure to the all-season ramblers of Halibut Point.
Discovering a Hermit Thrush in winter isn't as likely to come from holding to a stationary observation point. That kind of rewarding bird observation will shift to a Big Sit on the shoreline where the winter ducks are arriving.
๐Thank You for these wonderful posts!๐
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