Pewee, Bunting and a Swamp Bandit.

Monday, May 21st I went into the kitchen at work and since the window was open I could hear the Eastern Wood Pewee taunting me. I grabbed some binoculars out of my cubicle and within a few minutes I located him perched at the top of an old oak tree on some bare branches.

Tuesday, May 22nd I heard a loud bird call in the same area as the Pewee. The call was quite loud and vaguely familiar. I saw a small bird flitting around in the top of the large oak tree by the garage. I took some binoculars out of the van and peered upwards. Sure enough, it was the Indigo Bunting! I missed them all last year so I was very excited to add one to my list for 2007.

Friday, May 25th I helped Paul set up mist nets for birds class and then hiked back to the building via the meadow. I trained my binoculars on the piles of box elder we cut to create a bur oak savanna. I saw a small bird right away on a pile far away. I had to get closer to be sure but it was indeed a common yellow throat. I expected to see the "swamp bandit" closer to water. I hiked back to the building noting kildeer in the newly plowed field and pulled three deer ticks off my pants. Good times.

In the afternoon I stopped out as Paul took down nets and the bog was quite quiet. A lone bird flew along the tree tops and when it landed we got a great view of a Great Crested Flycatcher with a beautiful creamy yellow belly.

108 Eastern Wood Pewee
109 Indigo Bunting
110 Common Yellowthroat
111 Great Crested Flycatcher