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| Birdwatching | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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McCary's Migrants
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| August is a quiet month in the natural world. The breeding season is essentially over, although one still sees parent birds feeding their “adolescent’ youngsters. The joyful singing of the spring has all but ceased; occasionally one may hear an indigo bunting or a red-eyed vireo. Swallows are beginning to flock up, preparatory to their long journey southward. On a recent ramble down a country trail here at Shirley, I was delighted to observe two of our summer nesters, the blue grosbeak and the indigo bunting. These colorful birds will soon be leaving us for warmer climes. On the same walk, imagine my pleasure when I flushed a male bobwhite which had been whistling from time to time during my stroll. Bobwhites have been declining throughout much of their range as suitable habitat has disappeared. The type of farmland found at Shirley, however, is most salubrious for the charming bobwhite. No doubt hereabouts for generations many a country boy has derived great satisfaction from “calling in” a bird by whistling the telltale sound. Closer to the big house and the dependencies, one still sees the chimney swifts flying overhead. In his guides, Peterson has appropriately called the swift “a cigar with wings.” Ere long these little fellows will be heading south down to Peru. Thomas B. McCary Ask Tom about Birding at Shirley Plantation |
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| Birdwatching in 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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