Local birding report

By mid-to-late June the lisping cries from flocks of Cedar Waxwings have begun to wane across the upper canopies of our woodlands and summer resident songbirds are getting down to business. Across town breeding season is in full swing and if you listened carefully the nasal begging calls of fledglings seemed to be everywhere. While a female catbird is confined to the nest by the duties of incubation, the male, seemingly in an ecstasy of delight, pours his soul into song both by day and night. The Eastern Phoebes nesting in the eaves above our front door have recently fledged and two separate pairs of Bluebirds nesting in woodpecker cavities along the side of our house both have noisy broods.

One late afternoon I heard an unfamiliar sound that I tracked to nearby pricker bush thicket. Standing quietly for a couple minutes I could not locate the source of the sound. My brain raced with possibilities. Was this a rare bird that I have never heard before or an abnormal vocalization from a common bird like a Tufted Titmouse? The mystery sound had an emphatic repeating sharpness to it. When the flutelike carol of a Baltimore Oriole sounded off just overhead, I suddenly had a strong hunch. Scanning the tree limbs overhead I spotted a bag-shaped hanging nest of a Baltimore Oriole. This was the third Baltimore Oriole nest I have found in our yard this spring! Calls of fledgling birds are often a source of confusion this time of year and although I may have heard this sound before I surely had forgotten.

Additionally, along the fringes of the town dump and Gull Crest there were American Redstarts, Common Yellowthroats, Yellow Warblers, and Chestnut-sided Warblers all vigorously defending their bushy fiefdoms through song.

This is the time of year when I enjoy looking for specific species that I often miss, including less frequently spotted shorebirds like Rudy Turnstones and American Oystercatch-ers, or different types of terns like the Artic and Roseate, and elusive gems like the Black or Yellow billed Cuckoo, American Bittern or Virginia Rail Two other notes from the field over the last several weeks include, on June 12 along Crescent Beach State Park, four Black-bellied Plovers and three Least Sandpipers and on June 14 my wife spotted a Brown Thrasher in an old crab apple tree in our backyard. This was the first Thrasher we have seen in our yard this season. Coincidentally there have notably fewer reports of Brown Thrashers in Cumberland County this year as well. Interestingly, Brown Thrashers are the largest songbird to have their nests parasitized by Brown-headed Cowbirds. Slightly larger than a robin, this secretive bird has an endless array of unique songs interspersed between mimicry of many other birds including Kingfishers, Goldfinches, Scarlet Tanagers and Carolina Wrens.