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Mariton: Tuesday Birding Continued

May 24, 2017

by Tim Burris, Preserve Manager.  Photos by Carole Mebus.

Eastern Wood Pewee

We went to Jacobsburg State Park on Tuesday for our bird walk.  We saw birds right off, and soon found this Eastern Wood Pewee.  The flycatchers have distinctive songs (in fact some are primarily distinguished by their song).  The Pewee says its name pee-a-wee.  It is one of the birds that continues to sing during summer’s heat.

Common Yellowthroat Male

We found a pair of Common Yellowthroats in the field.  We didn’t see nesting material, but my hunch is they will build a nest in that general area.  Carole took the photo of the male facing her.  It is a different perspective for me and I like this photo.  The female, though less decorated, still displays the bright yellow throat.

Common Yellowthroat Female

 

Indigo Bunting

We saw a few Indigo Buntings along the way.  Like many blue colored birds, the lighting can affect the amount of blue that we see.  Tiny air pockets in the barbs of feathers refract sunlight into the blue shades that we see.  I have seen these birds go from bright blue to brown in the wave of a cloud.  (Since the female is a dull brown it warrants a second look when looking at an Indigo Bunting.)

The highlight for me was a Blackburnian Warbler.  It didn’t stay still for a photo, but everyone got to see it.  We saw several last week, and it was nice for the people that couldn’t make that walk to get to see one.  One more week of dedicated bird walks, and then we move into watching butterflies.