A Naturalist’s Journal

Killed about 20 CLUSTER FLIES at the study window this morning. Heard a WOODPECKER DRUMMING outside the window. Some kind of WREN visited the shelf feeder at about noon. A patch of leaves on the MAPLE  outside my study window has already turned yellow-orange. I’ve been noticing colors here and there for the last two weeks or so. When I first woke up this morning I heard a zillion CHICKADEES (and maybe a few other species) chattering outside the bedroom window. Later today when I walked down to the Nature Center I saw some small birds fluttering in the trees near Blood’s and heard more birds (a group of them) moving in the underbrush along the woods side of the road. I also saw another group of birds flying from tree to tree at the Nature Center. While I was sitting on the barn step, a CHIPMUNK with its cheeks stuffed full almost ran across my foot.

CLUSTER FLIES very definitely “clustering” at the study window. I swatted about five of them tonight. They drive me crazy with their buzzing.

I made another attempt to describe and identify singing insects at 8:40 p.m.: (1) high sustained  musical trill–maybe a tree cricket? (2) rapidly pulsating twitter, continuous and sustained (cone-headed grasshopper?) (3) an occasional “knee-deep…knee-deep…knee deep (bush katydid? tree katydid?) (4) an occasional chirp (field cricket?)

Took a walk with Christal Whelan down the Brook Trail to the Observation Pool. We saw a DOE and FAWN (still spotted) in the Moultroups’ back pasture. They stood still, then bolted, then looked at us, then bolted again. We listened to the meadow insects and heard a pulsing chirp from the grass, a sustained high-pitched buzz (from the trees?), what Christal called “itching put to music” in the grass, and chirring in the grass. One insect we looked at had short wings, long antennae, a yellow stripe, and what looked like black padding on its sides. It made its sound by vibrating its short wings. It had two “horns” coming out of its rear end.

Lots of CHIPMUNKS on the road. Flies (CLUSTER FLIES) beginning to buzz at the lights at night and at window screens during the day. Tonight it’s cool, almost cold out. I hear three different insect sounds: (1) a sustained high-pitched trill (2) a pulse-like deet-deet-deet-deet-deet (3) an occasional bell-like breep———-breep———-breep.

ELDERBERRIES turning purple.

SATURDAY AUGUST 19, 1978
I don’t care what anybody says, the LOOKOUT is a spectacular place. I startled a deer down by the apple tree. Saw the white flag and heard it bounding away. I think there was only one.

I saw a FEMALE CANADA WARBLER (I think) in the lilac bush outside the kitchen window today: yellow below, gray above, speckled throat, long slender body. The BEAVERS and DUCKS are floating around so quietly tonight, I feel as if I’m watching a silent movie. On my way home I saw two small RACCOONS hiding in the weeds beside the road. They were rustling around and squeaking. They didn’t run away–just looked back at me while I looked at them.

Saw a WOOLLY BEAR CATERPILLAR crawling across the hard surface road at about noon today.

FOX barking again tonight at 10:45 p.m. High-pitched.