I hiked around the Sugarbush trail in Blendon Woods this afternoon, a trail that runs through a series of meadows (unusual habitat for this island of mature forest habitat).  Just as at Whittier/Berliner the prior day, temperate migrants were the order of the day, with singing brown thrashers, field sparrows, and towhees at several locations, along with kinglets & gnatcatchers around forest edges.  The big show here was a tom Wild Turkey displaying to 2 hens.  Apparently they've been in the area for nearly 2 months now according to naturalist Bruce Simpson, and represent further colonization of woodlands in urban Franklin County by this formerly scarce species.

I also had a chance to see some of Bruce Simpson's photos of the apparent Bufflehead-Hooded Merganser hybrid, and I don't think that anyone who sees them and hears his description of the bird's behavior will have much difficulty in accepting this ID.  It was the same conclusion that I reached before he even shared his opinion of the bird's identity with me, and, knowing the rairty of the find, I encouraged him to post it to this forum.  I think we might want to see his evidence before we start debating the ID.


Rob Thorn
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EarthLink Revolves Around You.

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