[TN-Bird] Spring firsts and more...

From: Mark Greene <greenesnake@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 12 May 2011 06:31:32 -0700 (PDT)
May 11, 2011
Gibson County
 
I've had a few spring firsts and other things of interest lately. I heard the 
first Chuck-will's-widows of the season singing from down the road as I was out 
in the yard on Monday evening at dusk. Last night I think they sang all night 
as I went out at 2am to see what the dogs were upset about (only an Eastern 
Cottontail) and the Chucks were still singing away. Two Common Nighthawks have 
been roosting (maybe thinking about nesting?) in the property line of trees 
between my neighbor and I and they begin calling just before dusk and then fly 
away just at dusk feeding on the abundant night insects. The Grasshopper 
Sparrows that have been in the field behind the house continue to sing and for 
the last few days have been singing well past dusk. I've noticed that as it 
approaches dark they lengthen their song - they sing their typical insect-like 
buzz song and then at the end they add something that sounds almost exactly 
like an Easter Kingbird. I hear them
 do this every spring. Unfortunately for the sparrows the field that they have 
been singing in was planted with soybeans on Tuesday so I suspect they won't be 
around much longer. There have been at least 2 birds in the field and they were 
still singing away on the bare cultivated soil hopping up on a perch whenever 
they could find one. Hordes of Cedar Waxwings continue to feed on the buds of 
the big Green Ash tree in the yard as they do every year. Blue Grosbeak, 
Orchard Oriole, and Eastern Wood-Pewee are now all on territory in the yard and 
all are singing away. Dickcissels have returned in force and have joined the 
Indigo Buntings in the tall grasses along the ditch behind the house.
 
I had Prairie Warblers singing on Lon Lett Road near Humboldt in Gibson County 
yesterday as well as Yellow-breasted Chat. House Wrens are singing all over the 
place in Trenton and 2-3 can be heard every day in some of the yards around our 
office building.
 
On a reptile note, I came home yesterday to find a beautiful five and a half 
foot Gray Rat Snake in my garage! I relocated him down the road a bit as I 
didn't want him "disturbing" the many nesting birds (and rabbits) in the yard 
right now. I found a large Broad-headed Skink nearby with a missing tail so I 
suspect that the snake may have had lizard in mind for dinner but had to settle 
for lizard tail as the skink left the tail and escaped!
 
Good birding,
 
Mark Greene
Trenton, TN
Gibson County
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[TN-Bird] Spring firsts and more...

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