Essex County Highlights

Saturday, May 25, 2002, was one of those wonderful Spring days -
a series of fortunate events, a string of seasonal vignettes. Wayne and Betty
Petersen, Susan Carlson, and I participated in the following:

At Parker River NWR, just south of Parking Lot 1, three Clapper Rails were frolicking
in the salt marsh at close range, overwhelmed by hormones. They were calling variously
and loudly, chasing each other beneath and on top of the thatch, flying about, and
generally behaving quite unlike their normally shy, secretive selves. I managed a couple of photos:

 

South of the pans (or pannes, or panini, if you prefer), a pair of Killdeer were exercising their
four chicks. Dad was brooding two in this image by Susan:

while the other two youngsters were out running around (precocial is as precocial does!)

 

In the Marker Field, south of the North Pool Overlook, we were treated to courtship behavior
of the pair of Northern Harriers. They circled and dipped and weaved in a low-altitude dance
before dropping into the presumed nesting location in the Phrag marsh. In short, it looks like
they are setting up for nesting again this year. The significance of the nesting of these birds in
Essex County is discussed by Jim Berry in the next (June) issue of Bird Observer.

At Hellcat, a Marsh Wren was advertising for a mate, and warning off potential intruders:

Later in the afternoon, on Turkey Hill Road, we were treated to the sight of a male
Rose-breasted Grosbeak on nest (spotted by the sharp-eyed Wayne):

Of course, the Golden-winged Warbler was the draw, and we were
treated to drop-dead looks:

Having heard about Jan Smith's report of a Hooded Warbler on Pike's Bridge Road,
we stopped by for a look, but the only one we could find was a bit over-stuffed and fuzzy:

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