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Hi there, I spent last weekend in Margaretsville, Annapolis County. I was visiting friends who live in one of my atlas squares (a priority square), so I spent the mornings birding and the afternoons helping them with various chores. This year three families of Barn Swallows nested in the barn, up from the usual one pair. The hedgerows around the fields had Alder Flycatchers, Red-eyed Vireos and Song Sparrows still singing tirelessly throughout the day, and a few species, like the Veeries, sang at dawn and dusk, but most other birds were relatively quiet. However the woods were alive with young birds, with Ovenbirds particularly abundant and easy to see. In the early morning the boundary line of mixed shrubs and trees which faces the rising sun were full of birds actively feeding. These included the same species which I regularly see there throughout the season, so over the weekend I watched for breeding activity and observed: Barn Swallows tending young in nests Northern Parula with fledged young Chestnut-sided Warbler with fledged young Yellow-rumped Warbler carrying food and attending young Black-throated Green Warbler carrying food Blackburnian Warbler with fledged young still being fed by parents Black-and-white Warbler carrying nesting material ! Bobolink with fledged young There were also some species which I don't usually see on the farm and which I suspected were migrants, such as a Great Blue Heron, Nashville Warblers, and Common Grackles. At the same time some normally common birds were conspicuous by their absence, and I suppose they have moved out: American Redstarts, Common Yellowthroats, and Savannah Sparrows all breed in the area but I saw none. My friends heard a pair of Barred Owls duetting very late one night, but didn't wake me up, so I missed them! They are fairly regular here at all seasons. One morning early while I was out birding I heard a whole family of Coyotes yipping and howling from the fields across the road. Purple Ragged Fringed Orchids and Epipactis Helleborine were in bloom. Butterflies were noticeably absent compared to other years, except for Common Wood Nymphs, which were really common. I enjoyed a leisurely drive home along Hwy. 221 on Sunday evening. The light was beautiful and I stopped a number of times: to watch a young buck in a field, to take some photographs of an interesting old barn, to buy some blackcurrant jelly from a stall at the end of a farm lane, and to admire the lush fields. I reached Wolfville shortly before dusk, and realized that I was just in time for the Chimney Swift show, so made my way to Front Street to watch. It was a lovely warm calm evening, with a few light clouds, and there were a dozen or more people in the parking lot waiting. I looked for you, Jim, but I didn't see you, or recognize anyone else who might be keeping count as the swifts entered. I saw 58+ enter the chimney just before 9:00 p.m., and left a record with fuller details on the sheets provided. That's always a neat sight to see, and it was a fitting way to end a pleasant weekend spent mostly outdoors. Cheers, Patricia L. Chalmers Halifax
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