Our Environment: “Missing Species in RI” By Scott Turner
Scott Turner, Environmental Columnist
Our Environment: “Missing Species in RI” By Scott Turner
In particular, there is a bird species that I’ve failed to find after numerous forays afield over a period of some 40 years. The bird in question does not breed in Rhode Island (It once did, but the species’ breeding range has shrunk in Southern New England), yet the songbird shows up every autumn, often hanging around into early winter.
The common name for this species is Yellow-breasted Chat. Big headed and long-tailed, the chat is olive-green above, with a gray face, yellow breast, white moustache and white spectacles. In fall and winter those features are somewhat subdued.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTWhen I lived in Ohio and in Pennsylvania, I went on local birdwatching expeditions to find chats during the breeding season. I saw and heard zilch.
During the breeding season, a chat is vociferous. Indeed, the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology says that male chats possess “… a large repertoire of songs made up of whistles, cackles, mews, catcalls, caw notes, chuckles, rattles, squawks, gurgles, and pops, which they repeat and string together with great variety.” In fall and winter, a chat is quiet.
Year-round the Yellow-breasted Chat prefers thickets and dense shrubbery. Sure enough that was where one was reported over several days in late December in Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge.
On New Year’ Day morning, Karen and I drove down to the refuge in South Kingstown. You might recall that the day was exceptionally warm—the air temperature was 60 degrees when we arrived. The wind—a steady blow that reached 40 miles per hour—made the outdoors feel much chillier.
The Refuge looked great—no litter and with feeders filled—likely the work of dedicated staffers and/or volunteers during the government shutdown.
Other birdwatchers were there, some with impressive-sized scopes. The chat was seen earlier in the morning, we learned. Loitering at the pond allowed us to watch the clouds speed due east in the wind.
In fact, this was a great day for cloud spotting. We observed white, wispy cirrus vapors high in the atmosphere; and darker, cumulus and stratus clouds at medium- and lower-levels of the sky. Some of these low-slung clouds were shadowy rectangles, looking like charcoal briquettes, while others whisked by in a tan colors reminiscent of fallen leaves.
At ground level, every time, a songbird, such as a Black-capped Chickadee, winged past, we followed it on foot to see if the Yellow-breasted Chat was part of its flock.
After an hour of this yo-yoing, we noticed the sky was bright blue. Not a cloud. One unusual bird we did see was a Rusty Blackbird. This is a bird of wet areas. The individual we observed was a male—dark, with some rusty edges to its feathers and striking pale yellow eyes.
Alas, we found no Yellow-breasted Chat. Foiled once again, we decided to mosey out of the refuge.
The preserve was picturesque, and the company of the other birdwatchers appreciated. As for the chat, all I can say is that until I see or hear one, it’s all just chitchat.
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