The boreal stretch of the Tote Road, north of Nesowadnehunk Fields was loaded with Fox Sparrows today and yesterday. Without trying very hard, and after getting the hang of their contact call, I counted 8 below the path to Nesowadnehunk Campground, and 6 more between that path and the Phoenix Camp Rd. Most eventually showed themselves, in response to pishing and a poor imitation of their call.
A first for me...while relaxing at Nesowadnehunk Campground, witnessed a Peregrine Falcon take a Gray Jay. This was preceded by a sustaiined whooshing of air that's hard to describe. Haven't heard anything like it since a close encounter with a Tundra Swan at Malheur, OR. I must have been directly in line with the target as the falcon swooped down. Heard a "thwack", then the falcon took its prey to the ground where it adjusted its grasp, then split. I initially thought the prey was a Blue Jay, but I scrounged up all the feathers I could (<25 yeards away) and all were grey or greyish brown. The Peregrine was an adult, and I mistook its blue-grey wing for those of a Blue Jay. I don't count watching a guy fly his pet Peregrine hunting Black Ducks as a natural kill, and thus consider this as a first for me. Presumably, the Gray Jay was perched atop a tall Tamarack along the lake's edge. Other species similarly perched included waxwings and flickers.
Are Peregrines documented breeders at Baxter? I was looking at some great vertical rock faces near the summit of Center Mt., and they look ideal.
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