Today I enjoyed a morning walk in the Dismal Swamp
with George and Rosemarie Harris from Orange County and John Getgood from
Virginia Beach. The mosquitos were very thick, making it both difficult to
hear and to stand very long in one place. After a slow start, the singing
picked up as we walked north along Jericho Ditch. Several Swainson's
Warblers were heard with one individual so close you could almost hear him
breathe. The swamp's resident birds are all in place with many
incubating. Migrants noted included Black-throated Blue Warbler, Blackpoll
Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, and Olive-sided Flycatcher. The latter was
right at five-points. George heard the quick-three-beers call, which I had
mentally dismissed as coming from a White-eyed Vireo. Fortunately it
called again and we tracked it down. An Eastern Wood-Pewee flew in for a
nice comparative study.
A really neat bonus for us today was a pair of
bobcats that first one and then the other walked down the road toward
us. The female marked a spot in the middle of the road and ran off.
If that didn't motivate the male to follow her, I'm sure it will attract a
nice bunch of butterflies. Butterflies we saw included E. Tiger, Zebra,
and Palamedes Swallowtails, Pearl Crescent, Southern Pearly-eye, Carolina
Satyr,
and Silver-spotted Skipper.
Cheers,
Bob Ake
--- Robert Ake
--- akeneff@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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