Kings Of The Canopy

It was 5:00am on Saturday morning when I noticed that the sky was just starting to get lighter. I gathered my binoculars and camera ready to head out for what I expect will be an exciting morning of birding. We are entering the peak of Spring Migration and reports of warblers have been promising this week.

I arrived at Portland Reservoir at 5:30am, not wanting to miss one moment of what is a perfect spring morning. The sky is clear and the forecast calls for temperatures in the upper 60's. There's something magical about the early part of the morning. It's the time of the day that my mind is at its sharpest with only the sounds of nature to compete with my thoughts. Most people are still asleep at this time allowing me to walk through the woods slowly with no distractions.

A few birds had started to already. There were the slurred singing of the Baltimore Oriole, the lyrical notes of a Song Sparrow, and the squeaking cackle of Canada Geese on the far end of the reservoir. As I walked along the path lined with towering trees, the sun made it's first appearance as its golden glow cast upon the long, soft needles of the white Pines. As I passed the small bog on my left, a beaver smacked its tail against the water letting me know that I was crowding its space.
As I walked further into the forest, things quieted down again. I thought about what I had read in the Bible the night before. I rarely read the Bible but when I do, I'm left with a lot of questions. Most of them start with the word how? Science has tried to answer many of the questions we have about life. They have even come up with theories about how life first began. I find these theories to be fascinating but they leave me with one big question--why? Scientific explanations seem to imply that life was created by a series of cosmic accidents causing a chain reaction which led us to where we are at this very moment. I'm not buying the theory that the miracle of life was just a lucky coincidence. Although I'm not a follower of any particular religion, I believe someone or something definitely had a plan. The truth is I'll probably never know who, what or why. These are the kind of thoughts that run through my mind when I drink coffee and go walking in the woods at 5:30 in the morning.
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As I came to the end of my walk, I started to hear a sound from the canopy above. Chick-brrr, Chick-brrr. That is the call of Piranga olivacea, more commonly known as a Scarlet Tanager--beautiful!

It was an excellent day of birding for me. I saved money on gas by staying in my hometown of Portland. I was able to see 14 species of warbler:

At Portland Reservoir- Northern Parula, Yellow , Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Green, Louisiana Waterthrush, Common Yellowthroat, Pine, American Redstart, Black & White, and Ovenbird.

At Old Marlborough Turnpike-Blue-winged Warbler, Prairie Warbler, and Chestnut-sided Warbler.

I took a ride over to Gadpouch Hill Road and parked my car across from the blue-marked trail which leads to the top of Great hill. This seems to be a reliable place to find Worm-eating Warbler during Spring Migration and this year was no exception. I could hear the insect-like trills of two Worm-eating Warblers just before the trail winds through the cliffs along the blue trail. Another reliable migrant that can be found here every spring is the Rose-breasted Grosbeak. I had my first look at a male singing jubilantly as he flew from one treetop to another.

Once I reached the top of the hill I started to hear the low, croaking call of a Great-crested Flycatcher. I didn't hear its weep call at all. Maybe it was such a nice day that he had nothing to weep about. Here is a photo looking at the back of the bird sitting in a tree at the top of the 400 foot Great Hill.

Later in the morning, I stopped at the Portland Fairgrounds. Things didn't start out to well as I got my truck stuck in the mud. AAA sent out a truck that arrived within an hour. They pulled me out of the mud with no problem. The nice thing was that I was at a place that I could watch the birds while I waited. The fairgrounds were loaded with swallows chasing each other around. They were mostly Tree Swallows and Barn Swallows like the two in the above photo. There was also a variety of sandpipers to be seen including 12 greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpiper, and Least Sandpipers. I was really pleased with the variety of species that I saw which totaled about 50.

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I will leave you with two videos that feature brilliant colored male migrants that love to sing from the tops of trees. I shall call them- " KINGS OF THE CANOPY."

The first video is of a Rose-breasted Grosbeak. He was quite easy to hear but getting a clear look at him was another story. I lost the bird at the end of the video but left it running so you could hear him sing a repeat verse of his song.

Our second King Of The Canopy is a male Scarlet Tanager. He never got into his full song but you can clearly hear him repeating his call notes.