One morning last week I played hookey from work and went to Joppa Flats Audubon Center to join a bird walk in the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge with Bill Gette, Joppa’s director. Bill is an excellent birder and makes sure everybody in the group gets to see the birds we discover. We have gone on birding trips with Bill to Costa Rica, northern New Hampshire, and locally along the coast. His enthusiasm is infectious.
That day we heard and then saw a Wilson’s warbler—a life bird for me—and witnessed a good display by a pair of common terns, with the male going out, grabbing a fish, returning to the female, and presenting her with his “love offering.” While watching the common terns, a little tern was cruising around the salt pan—another first for me. We saw yellow warblers, bobolinks, ospreys, gadwalls, and a nesting killdeer along the refuge drive.
The highlight for me was a visit to the bird-banding station operated by Joppa Flats. We received a good introduction to the art of bird banding by the dedicated crew of volunteers who man this station several weeks of the year. While there, we saw in-hand two ovenbirds, the secretive bird we have in our woods, but which looks altogether different from a distance of 18 inches. They were much smaller than I imagined. We saw a catbird and a common yellowthroat that had been netted. Bill showed us the undertail coverts (feathers), which are a chestnut color and not easily seen. A volunteer held each bird in hand and gently blew the chest feathers apart to see if there was any fat build-up present. The fat that shows as a yellowish mass is put on for their migratory flight. If there is no fat visible, it indicates that the bird has reached its destination and will more than likely nest in the area this summer. If fat is present, it is an indication that the bird has further to go to its summer breeding grounds. Fascinating! The Wednesday morning bird walk is a great program for novice and accomplished birders.
David Durrant lives with his wife, Pamela, on East Bare Hill Road at MichelDever farm where they run their business, Durrant Design, and watch birds—their own peacocks, chickens, and wild birds.
