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Shepherd Trail: 11 warbler sp.



Dear Carolinabirders,

prompted by other birders' postings about a minor warbler fallout yesterday 
(Thursday), I went to the Shepherd Trail (Durham, NC) from 1500 through 1700hr.

I was trying out my new Marantz tape recorder for the first time doing some 
playback of Titmouse calls, when all of a sudden a HUGE mixed high-canopy 
warbler flock came in. It appears as though my playback attracted some 
Titmice that were leading the mixed flock, and by continuing the playback I 
was able to make the flock stay around in the same general area for a long 
time. The same thing is known from mixed flocks in the lowland rainforest 
communities of the tropics: I know that birders in Peru frequently play the 
song notes of particular antshrike species when they're near a mixed flock, 
as the other birds will follow the antshrikes around.

Among the best birds in that flock were:

WILSON'S WARBLER:	1 male; black cap, small size, dark undertail, no doubt 
about ID
BLACKPOLL WARBLER:	1-2
Magnolia Warbler:		1
Chestnut-sided Warbler:	1-2
American Redstart:		many
Parula:			3-4
Black-throated Blue Warbler:	1-2 males
Black/white Warbler:		1

Also, one silent empidonax moved along with the flock (I have a feeling 
that this was not one of the resident Acadians, since its beak did not look 
that bulky).
It is amazing how many Red-eyed Vireos are still on migration. The mixed 
flock contained at least 5-8 of them, and I don't suppose they were all 
recruited from the local population.

Quite remarkably, when I went to the Shepherd Trail this morning, the only 
warblers I found were Pine and Yellowthroat (besides Cedar Waxwings and 
Summer Tanagers). The birds seem to have moved on rather quickly.

Happy birding,

Frank E. Rheindt
Biology Department
Duke University
Durham, NC