I'm afraid I've been lax about posting to the blog. Certainly the sightings have been on the decline, but I don't like to disappoint dedicated followers (whom I deeply appreciate, by the way), so here's a couple of shots taken on Monday, Nov. 15th.
As I was walking through the wooded area of the trail, I noticed something moving in the leaves. I assumed it was a squirrel, but upon closer inspection it turned out to be a White-throated Sparrow foraging in the leaf litter. It was acting just like a chicken would, scratching away the leaves with its feet, then searching in the soil for edibles. I watched it for several minutes, during which I noticed two other White-throats doing the same thing.
Again, there were not many land birds evident around the marsh this morning, but I did get lucky and spot three White-throated Sparrows in a chokecherry tree. This one held still long enough for me to snap this picture. White-throats may remain into November; some may even winter over.
I'm pretty sure I saw a Palm Warbler this morning, but there certainly has been a change in the bird population at the marsh over the last week. There are still birds about, but they seem to be more elusive. I stood for some time this morning in front of a stand of gray birches, as I was hearing bird calls, but not seeing much of anything. Then I noticed this bird sitting at eye level just a few feet into the trees. It's a White-throated Sparrow, and a first sighting for me at the marsh - unless the unknown sparrow I posted on Tuesday was a White-throated....
