May 16, 2005 [LINK]
Magnolia warbler video
[CLICK TO SEE: Magnolia warbler video]
I was pleased to find that there are still a number of warblers passing through the area on my walk behind the Staunton-Augusta Rescue Squad this morning, but the arrival of the Blackpoll warblers signifies the fast-approaching end of migration season. I managed to get a semi-decent video clip of a Magnolia warbler nabbing a small caterpillar in the bushes. Yummy! Note the distinctive field marks: black mask, yellow throat and breast, black streaks on the side, white wing bars, and black-tipped tail. The trilling chirp in the background is a Tufted titmouse. (In Apple QuickTime format; free download.)
- Blackpoll warblers (M) (FOS)
- Indigo buntings (M)
- Black vulture
- Towhee (M)
- Magnolia warbler (M)
- Black and white warbler (FOS)
- Common yellowthroat (M)
In addition, I heard some Black-throated green warblers up in the trees, but couldn't see any.
Ivory-Billed Woodpecker & Whitewater??
At the Augusta Bird Club picnic on Saturday, someone gave me a copy of a cartoon by Tom Toles in the May 3 Washington Post, about the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker that was recently rediscovered in Arkansas. The point was, nature-tourism-oriented development could end up destroying the nearly extinct bird's unique habitat. That is the ironic risk in all eco-tourism ventures, as folks in Costa Rica have learned. But then I started thinking, "land development in in Arkansas," that sounds familiar... Oh yes! Might there be a connection with the Whitewater real estate development scheme? I did a quick Google search and found that others have already jumped to that hasty conclusion: see freerepublic.com.