I headed down to Shawnee SF today. The vegetation was only slightly ahead of what I saw at Zaleski last Sunday. There was sufficient vegetation along creeks and valleys, but large ares with little undergrowth in the ridges looked no different that they probably did on March 17th. It was very cold still this morning and many birds were quiet, or at least not singing persistently. Many birds seen also seemed to be foraging in groups like migrants and not on territory at all. Seeing that at Shawnee at this time of year is very unusual. My guess is that some birds arrived with the strong S winds and warm weather a couple of days ago, but the sudden cold weather and lack of vegetation kept some of them from immediately establishing territories like they normally do. At one point I encountered the full triplet of yellow-throated birds feeding down low in one clump of bushes, a Common Yellowthroat, a Yellow-throated Warbler, and a Yellow-throated Vireo all together. Is there a word for that or is it it just a lot of confusion?

Here's a run down of the state of the birds there today :

Louisianas, Yellow-throated Warblers, Pine Warblers, N Parulas, B-g Gnatcatchers, Blue-headed Vireos, E Towhees, E Phoebes, Brown Thrashers, etc. all seemed to be present where you'd expect them to be. Black&Whites may be in that group too, but they weren't singing very persistently in the cold weather this morning.

Ovenbirds, American Redstarts, and Yellow-throated and White-eyed Vireos are just starting to arrive and are widely scattered in low numbers, some on territory, some probably not.

One or two each was seen of Hooded, Worm-eating, Cerulean, B-t Green, Blue-winged, CYellowthroat, Prairie, and Wood Thrush. I only saw one Prairie, a female with a group of other warblers in a thicket in a valley where they don't nest. I didn't hear a single singing male in any of the many clear cuts at Shawnee, which is surprising since they were fairly common already at Vinton Furnace last weekend.

There was no sign yet of Red-eyed Vireos, Y-b Chats, KY Warblers, or Scarlet Tanagers, all which could be arriving on territory about now in a warm year at Shawnee.

I saw 3 different Ruffed Grouse in scattered locations. I used to see them often at Zaleski (Tar Hollow too), but I don't think I've seen any there in at least 5 years or so. 

There's no doubt about it, to those of us who have been birding at Shawnee for 20 years or so, the sight of the southern part of the forest is supremely ugly. The excessive clear cutting along with the tiers of roads made by the trucks have left the place hideously scarred. I didn't hear any chainsaws or see any logging trucks driving by today, but their presence will be felt for many decades.

Bob Royse





Robert Royse
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www.roysephotos.com

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