On 2/4/09 my Dad and I revisted Greenwood Cemetary in Grand Rapids on a sunny day to get better looks at White-winged Crossbills and with hopes of getting decent pictures. We got both! There were about 7 males feeding in the top of a Norway Spruce in the sunlight! I digiscoped the pictures below.
The Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) is the quintessential warbler found in the forests of eastern North America. Named after it's Dutch oven-shaped nest which is constructed on the ground, this bird is an incessant skulker, searching the forest floor for insects. In May of 1998 I came upon one such bird while hiking and frightened it so badly that it flew directly into the trunk of a huge tree, its head making a loud, hollow "thunk" as it most assuredly suffered a "seiurius" concussion. As I approached the unconscious bird laying at the base of the tree, it woke suddenly and flew into the thicket in a wabbly, drunken stupor. The Ovenbird has quickly become my favorite warbler and I am eager to hear it's bold "TEACH-er, TEACH-er, TEACH-er" song resounding through the forest each spring.
No comments:
Post a Comment