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warblers



Despite the ominous weather I ventured out into the Chapel Hill Botanical
gardens. By Morgan Creek two Flickers were excavating a hole,while a Hiery
Woodpecker tapped overhead and Pine Warblers and huge flocks of American
Goldfinches were singing away in the maples and oaks. But the best thng of
all was a male Hooded Warbler that appeared out of nowhere, foraged and
flitted off upstream. And then as I followed it I finally located the five
part song that I have now been hearing for the last week, and that has
been driving me mad. It always came from high up in the canopy, and was
occasionally punctuated by a hard 'chip' that was much deeper and fuller
than that of a yellow rumped. The last week I had tried to locate the
bird, but it just wouldn't budge from wherever it was siting on the
canopy. Well, today I managed to locate it. It was a Louisiana
Waterthrush, sitting perched about thirty feet up in a mid-sized tree (not
in the canopy) and singing away. This was a surprise since I am only used
to seeing Waterthrushes on the ground. Every once in a while it would stop
the five-part song, crouch slightly, fan out its tail feathers, look very
purposefully in one direction, and give that series of hard 'chip'
calls. It looked as if it was either seeing a rival or its mate. It did
eventually fly down and forage in a little side stream and I then got to
see its bobbing motion that I know so well. This ws a new bit of birding
for me. I had never seen Waterthrushes so high up on a tree before; but it
makes sense that in staking out its territory it should proclaim its
ownership from on high.
Oh, and Mason Farm had singing White Eyed Vireos.

Any comments on Waterthrush breeding/courting behaviour? 



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SHANTANU PHUKAN
Lecturer in Urdu-Hindi & Indian Literature
University of N. Carolina, Chapel Hill
Curriculum in Asian Studies
Alumni Hall 413C
Chapel Hill, N.C. 27599

phukan@email.unc.edu
919-962-6825
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