Reeves Bogs 2/18--Rusty Blackbird

Rusty Blackbird

Sometimes, rare that it is, I just get a feeling that today's the day for a certain bird. I got that feeling twice this morning. The first time was upon arrival at Reeves Bogs, where I so often find myself on Sunday mornings. 6:45 AM and I thought the conditions perfect--cold, windless, the purple fading from the skies as the sun inched up over the cedars, white lumps of Tundra Swans dotting the bog. The second time was when I was walking up between the front bog and the maple swamp, with the sun now lighting up the tops of the bare trees that line the path. I had heard a couple of "conka-rees" from Red-winged Blackbirds (my informant insists that they are singing earlier now than in the past--usually, he says, you don't hear them until mid-March), when I saw a blackbird flying from the bog into the treetops. On absolutely no evidence I said to myself, "That's going to be a Rusty Blackbird," and so it was. Reeves, in the winter, is fairly reliable for Rusties, but why that one was going to be the bird, I have no idea. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. 

If I could only get a Virginia Rail to call from the maple swamp, I'd have my three Reeves specialties (Wood Duck was last week). 

Tundra Swans at dawn

I knew for two reasons that I wasn't going to get a lot of species today--for one thing it was cold, the bogs half-covered with a thin sheet of ice, and for another, my route was going to have to be different since the rudimentary bridges over some of the breaches would be too icy to cross. My informant, who built many of them, has often told me, don't try them when there's frost, you'll go right into a bog. So I had to walk a route that spent a lot of time in the woods and along a couple of forest roads where there is very little bird activity. My walk took me past the first bog (where most of the Tundra Swans were), around Milton's Reservoir (two more swans there and two in the outlet pond, onto Cooper Road, a left on Muddy Road, past the Atlantic White Cedar Preserve, along Bear Hole (two more swans), along the third bog, (two more swans), around for a look at the second bog (66 Ring-necked Ducks and 8 Hooded Mergansers), then back into the woods and finally back to the car. Just under 4 miles. And hardly a peep out of the birds. But I did see two eagles for all you guys in pick-up trucks. 

Only 17 species, but one year bird and a good walk around one of my favorite places. 

Canada Goose  40
Tundra Swan  37
Mallard  5
American Black Duck  10
Ring-necked Duck  66
Hooded Merganser  8
Mourning Dove  3
Bald Eagle  2
Belted Kingfisher  1     Flew into maple swamp
Red-bellied Woodpecker  1
Carolina Chickadee  5
Tufted Titmouse  4
Eastern Bluebird  1
American Robin  1
Dark-eyed Junco  2
Red-winged Blackbird  5
Rusty Blackbird  1