Mackerel clouds and a breeze at 39 on a quiet viernes santo. Just the right weather for early Turkey Vultures: six head toward the point above Sapsucker Ridge and begin to circle at 6:30 AM, as early as I’ve seen them this year. Seconds later, a Brown-headed Cowbird sings from a nearby sycamore, as if it were in the woods somewhere. Three more Turkey Vultures arrive.
A pause, as the most spectacular sunrise of 2023 gets underway.
The local Tufted Titmouse is quite loud today, and it’s followed by just about every species this corner of the world can muster, all the way to a tardy Great Blue Heron, #35, at 7:23 AM.
Some highlights include a flyover Purple Finch at 6:58 and a Yellow-rumped Warbler heard at 7:06, the second of the year. The Fish Crow has taken to calling as it leaves town (helpfully, to distinguish it from American Crows). It roosts somewhere nearby, then flaps east over the interstate. Today, though, it decides to cut that short and abruptly loops back into town.
The Common Merganser pair speeds out of the Gap (6:44) and heads north below the crest of Bald Eagle Mountain. I often see them returning from the south, back into the Gap below the crest of Sapsucker Ridge, in the evening.
The Raven’s Morsel
Toward the beginning of the year, I predicted that the local junkyard raven would eventually be on the streets, and today, it finally happened. Acting like it owns the place, it fearlessly alights in the exit to the parking lot some 50 feet from the balcony, ignoring me entirely as it grabs what looks like a piece of fish, but could be junk food (perhaps it’s both). A struggle ensues, but I am able to document the 7:15 Lenten breakfast.
The Mob
I have once again been seeing the Cooper’s Hawk on a daily basis, often soaring right over the building, translucent wings in the mid-day sunlight. But in the early hours, it gets little respite from the mob. Today, at 7:20, it was circling up above the river, attempting to elude European Starlings, House Finches, House Sparrows, and Rock Pigeons. The starlings, in particular, were aggressively diving at it and vocalizing in their most annoyed voices. It’s odd to see such a terrifying predator practically run out of town: strength in numbers, I guess. Soon, it will have to contend with the most aggressively anti-Accipiter bird around, Chimney Swifts.
Trespassers Will
Speaking of aggression, I saw almost none of it over the winter, but now, it’s everywhere. Robins are fighting robins, as trespassers are simply not tolerated. They’re tussling on the street, on the roofs, in the parking lot, in the air. Starlings are going after House Sparrows, and vice versa. The aerial crowd is regularly attacking the Cooper’s Hawk. Higher up, there are some less-than-friendly interactions between American Crows and Common Ravens. Common Grackles seem to be staying out of the quarrels for the time being, while Rock Pigeons, except when they’re diving at hawks, seem to be doing their own thing (and, I realize, the only species other than vultures that I never hear vocalizing).