I squeaked in another quick walk at the Arboretum this morning, before the rain hit. The birds were certainly taking advantage of the temporary respite, as they were all singing their little feathery hearts out. There really is something wonderful in standing out in the woods and listening to the morning chorus of birdsong. Today's headliners were the Warbling Vireos, with back-up vocalists Baltimore Oriole, Nashville Warbler, and Winter Wren.
I got my Northern Parula this time. And, thanks in no small part to the Petersons CDs I've been listening to in the car, I got it first by song alone. So progress is being made towards a mastery of ID by ear! Slow, painstaking progress, but progress nonetheless.
There were three female Mergansers swimming around in the open-water portion of the swamp, too, which took me completely aback since I tend to think of them as river or lake birds. I immediately started debating between Red-breasted and Common, although they didn't look quite right for either... apparently Hooded was completely off my radar for some reason, which is a shame since that's what they ended up being. Many thanks to the local mailing list for setting me straight on that one.
Coming up to a long weekend, huzzah! Although according to the current forecast it could be a damp one. Some of the locals are apparently making a trip down to Long Point on Sunday, which is very, very tempting... guess I'll have to keep watching the skies and decide at the last minute, that seems to be the way these trips work out.
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