Edwin B. Forsythe (Brigantine) NWR, May 6, 2021
It was a lovely May day, with a breeze, blue sky and moderate temperature, and plenty of birds.
It was a lovely May day, with a breeze, blue sky and moderate temperature, and plenty of birds.
Our highly anticipated trip to Bombay Hook didn’t turn out quite as expected. We had hoped to see Brown-headed Nuthatch, but something went wrong, and the little bird was nowhere to be found on Big Stone Beach Road south of Frederica, Del.
The date was late for wintering birds, but early for spring arrivals. The most numerous ducks were Long-tails, with plenty of Common Eiders as well. Flocks of migrating Northern Gannets were offshore. Other winter birds such as Harlequins were not in evidence and presumably had left for their northern homes.
The highlight of the day was the Eagle show — four Bald Eagles (2 adult and 2 immature) feeding and interacting near our vantage on the north dike. One of the adult eagles was kind enough to sit atop a solitary cedar right next to our car, just posing for a close-up.
The date and the weather were right on the cusp between winter and spring. The ML birders were hoping for lingering winter ducks and raptors, with perhaps a few new arrivals.
In the Pedricktown area three Tundra Swans flew over, and we saw a male Wood Duck on the Delaware River. At our second stop at the causeway, to our delight we got some great views of seven Sandhill Cranes!
A pair of Trumpeter Swans has spent several recent winters on the big lake here, and returned this year. Although too far away to photograph, their size and shape made them obvious.
The ML Birders headed down to the coast in pursuit of wintering waterfowl and the chance to see Razorbills that have been spotted in the Shark River Inlet in Belmar.
The ML Birders took a second trip out to the Forsythe Refuge to get a better assemblage of migrating ducks and Snow Geese. We did find a nice flock of Snow Geese and a diverse variety of ducks, but unlike past trips we did not see large numbers of ducks.
The outing to Forsythe was blessed by magnificent weather and a nice variety of bird life. Egrets and Herons were particularly abundant with Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets in large numbers.
Brilliant sun and blue skies welcomed the Pathways trip to Palmyra Cove. Lots of birds, especially warblers and Baltimore Orioles, vocalizing and in many cases challenging us to not only identify them by song but to try and find them in the foliage.
The day was gray, a little on the cool side and not very breezy, but the birds seemed to pay the weather no mind.
The weather gods finally relented and gave us a mostly sunny, relatively warm and most importantly windless day to visit the refuge. We were hoping to see the Gyrfalcon which was present a few days before our visit but had not been seen in the prior couple of days.
It was cool and windy with only partial sun. However, we did see some great birds, and it started in the parking lot, where we picked up a Brown Creeper and a Peregrine Falcon that circled over us and landed on the top of the lighthouse.
The Medford Leas Birders traveled up to Princeton to visit the Rogers Refuge, which makes up a small portion of the Institute Woods.
The Pathways boat trip through the inland waters around Cape May started out on an ominous note as we traveled to our destination from Medford Leas. Overcast skies and intermittent rain occurred most of the way.
Salem County in spring can offer very interesting birding; it has early migrants and arrivals, but also can hold on to winter birds.
Arriving at the hawkwatch about 10:15, we found a moderate flight of accipiters underway, with constant Cooper’s and Sharpshinned Hawks in the air…. On our way home we found and identified a couple of interesting caterpillars.
Two trips in one – a scouting run and a fall field trip, in shorebird season.
A great day of bird photography at the rookery.
The ML Birders headed out to Belleplain State Forest on a gray and blustery day hoping to see some early arriving warblers. The birding gods were conspiring against them!
Mannington Marsh, the tidal estuary of the Salem River, is a beautiful place to look for waterfowl and early spring migrants.
A beautiful day, with thousands of Myrtle (Yellow-rumped) Warblers and plenty of hawks to watch.