Re: SWAINSON'S WARBLER at Great Dismal Swamp 4-29,4-30

William Leigh (tern@visuallink.com)
Sat, 1 May 1999 21:25:03 -0700 

Hello,
I read Gregory's report with great interest having just spent two days
at the Dismal Swamp searching for the very same Warbler. I too heard many
Swainson's but I could never see one.  I did not use a tape recorder either,
although I did try pishing and
several of my Screech Owl imitations .  After a total of 14.5 hours standing
in the constant rain listening to the little nymphs,  pragmatism overcame
obstinacy and I headed for Craney Island in Portsmith so as to actually see
some birds.  Actually, I did manage to see 9 species of Warblers and hear an
additional 5 species in the Dismal .   I also heard what I believed to have
been an Olive-sided
Flycatcher.  Warblers seen -listed from most commonly seen to least- were:

Prothonotary (very abundant),
 Common Yellowthroat,
 Prairie,
Myrtle
Hooded,
 Worm,
 Ovenbird,
Yellowthroated,
Black and White

Those heard were: ( listed from most frequently heard to least

Swainson's - I heard many usually in the same five to six areas..... I was
told that an ornithologist doing research on Swainson's in the Swamp  has
been marking their territories with neon pink plastic markers.  I almost
always would hear a Swainson's  in the vicinity of these markers. Although I
actually heard more on Jericho Lane (which does not have the neon markers)
within a mile of the Gate, than I did on  Jericho ditch.

Louisiana Waterthrush
Northern Waterthrush
Blue-winged
Northern Parula,
               William Leigh,
                 Winchester, Va

Gregory wrote....

-----Original Message-----
From: Gregory B Miller <gregorym@erols.com>
To: mdosprey@ARI.Net <mdosprey@ARI.Net>
Date: Saturday, May 01, 1999 4:25 PM
Subject: SWAINSON'S WARBLER at Great Dismal Swamp 5/1/99


>Howdy All!
>
>Yes!  That's right!  A genuine SWAINSON'S WARBLER report by me!  OK.
>The world can end now.  After hunting passively (I always had OTHER
>targets until last year) over the last 17 years in Texas, Mississippi,
>Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia and actively (warbler as
>the only target) in Texas, North Carolina, and Virginia...I now have a
>real warbler report...well...almost.  Ahem.  Clear throat.  HEARD ONLY.
>
>Now for the gory details (just in case there might be one or two
>MDOspreyers out there who STILL need this pesky mite):
>
>3-5 individuals heard at Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia (6:30am-1:30pm)
>
>2-3 birds Jericho Lane - between 1.2 miles to the parking area; check
>the pulloffs on the North (left hand side going in).  The first pulloff
>has a burnt/black engine sitting in it; the second one has a tree marked
>328 in orange paint.  Two birds were heard from the pulloff areas.  The
>possible third bird was on the South (right side) near the parking lot
>at the end of Jericho Lane later in the morning (around 10am).  These
>birds were easily heard from 6:30-8:30am.  There was 30 minutes of
>silence and then one bird starting singing again (#328) until around
>10am.  No Swainson's Warblers were heard after that time.
>
>1 bird was heard along Jericho Ditch near the parking area (close to the
>end of the little boardwalk) in the early morning only.
>
>1 bird was heard about 1/10th of a mile along an unnamed ditch that
>would be an extension of the road running into the parking area (early
>only also).
>
>I did not use any tapes, but I saw other birders who did.  They met with
>the same success as I.  Nada.  John Fussell (author of Coastal North
>Carolina Birding Guide) strongly discourages use of tapes in this area.
>>From the research I've done, most birders, it seems, have gotten to SEE
>their life Swainson's Warblers along the Gulf Coast during migration
>with High Island, Texas being the single most popular spot (is it
>because there's more birds or because there's more birders? <grin>)
>
>Consequently, I plan to let these nesting birds be.  I can think of
>worse fates than having to go back to High Island, Texas during Spring
>migration!  It was certainly a real treat to actually HEAR my nemesis
>bird sing!  Oh, yes.  It was very windy and cold today--not optimal
>conditions for viewing any passerines.
>
>Some other birds seen (most heard only--Great Dismal has a way of hiding
>its birds) today included:
>
>Wild Turkey
>Yellow-billed Cuckoo
>BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO!!! (I was surprised--is this a common migrant?)
>Red-eyed Vireo
>White-eyed Vireo
>Prairie Warbler
>Common Yellowthroat
>Prothonotary Warbler
>Black-and-white Warbler
>Kentucky Warbler
>Hooded Warbler
>Northern Waterthrush
>Louisiana Waterthrush (singing same time as Swainson's #328 on the other
>side of the road--great comparison!)
>
>I whiffed on the "Wayne's" Black-throated Green that nests in Great
>Dismal--maybe next time...
>--
>Greg Miller
>Baltimore, Maryland, USA
>Home- gregorym@erols.com
>Work- gregory.b.miller@bge.com
>WWW- http://www.erols.com/gregorym/