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Broad River, 4/2/2000




Despite threatening skies, I decided to make a quick run to Broad River WMA
today, hoping to hear the Blue-Headed Vireo sing and find a few new returnees.
I missed the BH Vireos completely but the day was far from a disappointment.
And this time, when I knew I had to get back to the car or get wet, I headed
for the car.  I managed to stay dry this time.

Highlights below:

Bald Eagle - 2, one fourth year (retaining a broad dark subterminal band in
the tail), the other at least fourth year or full adult (from the angle, I
could not see the tail, but the head was completely white and the eye was
light) 
Not only was it fun to find two eagles at Broad River, it was even bigger
fun to watch the adult(?) eagle steal a fish from an Osprey.  The first
eagle suddenly appeared in my vision from the north.  It took me a minute to
figure out what I was looking at because I so rarely see eagles in direct
flight.  This fellow was on a mission, though, and crossed half the sky
quickly, until he caught up with an Osprey I hadn't noticed before.  I saw
that the Osprey had a large fish. As the eagle closed in, the Osprey made a
tight 180 degree turn.  The eagle followed.  Assuming that their altitudes
were relatively close, I was surprised to see that the eagle almost dwarfed
the Osprey.  It was a big fish and the Osprey labored with his burden,
flapping deeply and slowly.  As the eagle followed, the Osprey turned again,
now flying in the direction he was originally headed and dropping in
altitude.  The eagle saw his chance and almost imperceptibly I could see the
eagle gather himself to dive, ever so slightly changing the camber of his
wings and ever so slightly tucking his wings in.  At this point the Osprey
surrendered and dropped the fish.  The eagle dove and caught the fish in a
motion so swift and adept that I didn't see the actual catch, just that the
eagle had the fish a second later.  Just as the first eagle disappeared from
sight, a second eagle flew in from the direction of the river.  The Osprey
went back to hunting.

Hermit Thrush - singing!  Coincidentaly, the last time I heard a singing
Hermit Thrush in SC was another April 2.

Among the returnees:

Common Yellowthroats - I was never out of earshot of singing Common
Yellowthroats all day long.

Yellow-throated Vireos -  I was rarely out of hearing range of YT Vireos all
day, either.

Red-eyed Vireo - only heard one

White-eye Vireos - heard a few, saw one

The only sparrows for the day were a few Swamps and Fields flushed from the
field (I didn't go down to where the LeConte's has been hanging out - ran
out of time before I knew the rain would catch me) and a small number of
White-throated Sparrows.  Heard one singing Savannah Sparrow.

Not a bad day at all, even if I did miss the "target" bird!

Donna Bailey
Winnsboro, SC
e-mail: dsbailey@conterra.com
URL: http://www.conterra.com/dsbailey
     "Where are the Birds?  Migration across South Carolina"
URL: http://www.conterra.com/dsbailey/audubon	
    "Columbia Audubon Society"