Things are slowing down around Lake Junaluska as far as migrants are concerned. Last Saturday revealed one double-crested cormorant, about eight ring-billed gulls and one spotted sandpiper. I have never found spotteds nesting at the lake, but every time I see them here in breeding plumage at this time of year, I tell myself that it’s a definite possibility. We are at the southern edge of their breeding range and Junaluska should provide adequate habitat. But, to date, I have found no evidence of nesting.

This medium sized (7 1/2 to 8 inches) sandpiper is reminiscent of a wood thrush on stilts. It is not as rufous on top, but is tawny brown in breeding plumage and heavily spotted underneath like the wood thrush. Also the bill is short for a sandpiper. Its habit is much as one might expect from a wood thrush on stilts also. This bird never stops teetering and bobbing its tail, like its trying to regain its balance.

While the flow of migrants is slowing, many neotropical nesters have returned. Barn swallows dart in and out from under the dam where they will attach their nests of mud and grasses. Barn swallows have deeply forked tails and are blue-black above. Their breast and belly is a buffy cinnamon and their throats are dark cinnamon.

Tree swallows also nest around the lake, often usurping bluebird boxes that are near the water. These lovely swallows have square tails, iridescent blue-green backs and clear white underparts.

The third swallow that nests at the lake is the northern rough-winged. The rough-winged also has a square tail, but its back is brown. It has a dark throat and white belly. The northern rough-winged will build its grassy nest in a variety of different locales from rock crevices, to open drain pipes, to old kingfisher burrows.

Purple martins take advantage of the generosity of many of Lake Junaluska’s residents who provide martin houses. These large swallows (7 to 8 inches) have notched tails. The male is uniformly blue-black above and below. The female is brown above and dusky-white below.

A beautiful yellow warbler was seen Sunday (4/22) on the narrow peninsula in the back of the lake near the osprey platform. Yellow warblers were found nesting last year in one of the Bradford pears that line the entrance at the back of the lake.

Sunday’s bird was quite active, feeding and singing lustily from a willow. The male yellow warbler is lemon-yellow with deep red streaks on its breast. The song is loud and jubilant usually started with a short series of crisp “sweet” notes followed by a rapid trill or jumble of notes.

The purpose for last Saturday’s trip to the lake was to scope out the other end of that narrow peninsula to see if the little green herons had returned. Two pair of herons have occupied nests in the tag alders at the tip (away from the osprey platform) of this little strip of land for, at least, the last two years.

At least two pair have returned. One nest is on the lake side and is difficult to see, but the other faces the shore. Once you find it, it is easily observable with binoculars. Little greens have a strong site bond and return year after year to the same nesting site. They are monogamous during the nesting season and both parents help in nest building, incubating and caring for the young.

The little green is a wide-ranging species. It nests from the the northwestern U.S. to southeastern Canada to the Gulf coastal states. It winters from the southern U.S. to South America.

This small (crow sized) heron is a very innovative fisherman. It has been known to use feathers, bread crumbs and small twigs to attract fish. Besides fish, the little green also feeds on frogs, salamanders, crawfish and other aquatic species.

The little green’s back is blue-green. It has a black crest and a dark, chestnut colored neck with a white ventral streak. The male performs a pretty dramatic courtship dance; raising its neck plumes, swelling its throat and calling out as it hops from foot to foot in front of the female.

The female usually lays three to five eggs in a shallow nest made of sticks and twigs.

The eggs hatch in about three weeks, and the chicks fledge about three weeks after that.

The Cajuns call these birds, “Cop! - Cops!” because of the loud alarm call they give when flushed from the marsh.

These little greens will probably be with us through July. If you wish to observe them, please do so quietly and from a reasonable distance. Too much disturbance will cause them to abandon their nest and seek more solitude.

(Don Hendershot can be reached at don@smokymountainnews.com)

 

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