Chuck's Birding Report #81

28 September - 04 October 2021

Dear fellow flock of birders,

There are only a few wildflowers blooming in the Arboretum right now. Most of them are various species of Asters. They come in a variety of colors and sizes. All the rest of the wildflowers have gone to seed and are providing food for the migrating birds.

Last Tuesday our group saw their first Dark-eyed Junco of the fall. We only saw one but it reminded us of the winter to come since that is one of the most common winter birds in the Arb and at all of our own feeders. They are the size of a sparrow and have a gray head, gray upper sides and wings, a gray tail except some white feathers on the lateral sides of the tail. The breast and belly are white. I often think of them as wearing a tuxedo. When they fly they always seem to land by spreading their tail feathers exposing those lateral white feathers on the sides of the gray tail feathers. A photo of a Dark-eyed Junco is included.

Also last Tuesday our group saw 5-6 flocks of Eastern Bluebirds. Each flock had 8-10 bluebirds in each flock for a total of about 40 Eastern Bluebirds. I haven’t seen that many in one day for a long time. Each of the flocks had one or two birds making their two-note call. I mimicked the sound and sometimes one or two or even the whole flock would come down and perch in a tree for us to view. Sometimes we saw adults and other times we saw juveniles. When Eastern Bluebirds fly in flocks they are totally disorganized and very loosely associated. That characteristic helps me identify them but the distinct two-note call is the clincher. Included is a photo of a perched juvenile Eastern Bluebird.

The past couple weeks we have been seeing a few Brown Thrashers migrating through the Arb. They are exceptionally handsome birds. They are a rusty brown color above and white with dark spots below. They are good sized with a long tail. I miss all the double calls they use in the spring because they are mostly silent when migrating in the fall. A photo of one that stopped in the small dead tree in the parking lot is included.

Another bird that we saw these past couple weeks have been migrating Eastern Phoebes. There were very few in the Arb during the summer so seeing more during migration gave us hope that they survived the spring migration and just settled somewhere north of us. A photo of one I saw on Curtis Prairie is included.

Last week at the south end of Gardner Marsh I was able to see 10 Yellow-rumped Warblers and one first of fall Brown Creeper. Birding this morning I didn’t see any Yellow-rumped Warblers. Are they all gone already or are there more coming? I hope I see a few more before the warbler migration ends. I know we will see more Brown Creepers throughout the winter. Photos of a Yellow-rumped Warbler feeding on the ground and a Brown Creeper climbing a tree are included.

I started birding this morning at 7:05am. The only birds awake from the start were my friendly American Crows perched in the small dead tree. They were preening as usual. It was totally overcast and without any wind. It was dead for 20 minutes to a half hour. That seems typical on overcast days. I think the birds sleep later on gloomy days. I know mammals who like to do that too. If it had been a sunny day there would have been much more activity as the sun rose and the birds warmed themselves in the sun. I only saw three species of warblers this morning with the Palm Warbler being the most prevalent numbering 4. The sparrows included Song, Swamp, House, White-throated and Chipping. I looked for others but had no luck. At Big Spring I saw 24 Mallards and to my surprise a pair of Wood Ducks in breeding plumage. Wow, they are beautiful birds! A photo is included. I saw my first of fall Winter Wren with its tail sticking straight up at Skunk Cabbage Bridge (photo included). Also at the same place flying high above were 32 Chimney Swifts. Later I saw 3 Tufted Titmice and a Pileated Woodpecker in Gallistel Woods. As I walked through the woods I tried locating a Hermit Thrush but struck out. Surprised again I found two Wood Thrushes eating berries from a Virginias Creeper which had climbed high into a tree. A photo of a Wood Thrush is included.

That’s my bird report for the past week.

Good health to all of you and good birding to you too,

Chuck