Mar
7
Without much time:
Yup, given the upward turn in temperatures, and the southerly winds, there was, predictably, a Laugher with the other gulls at the Cape May ferry terminal this morning. Wonderfully handosme beast it was too. Kind of like father Christmas coming to Narnia, or Aslan breathing life into the creatures cast in stone, looks like winter, though not yet defeated (that waits for Piping Plovers…) is definitely in retreat for 08/09.
Amen and Amen!
Otherwise, there were about 8 Great Corms in breeding finery on the Jetties, and on the Cape Island side of Cold Spring Inlet, about 3 and a half pairs of American Oystercatchers this morning.
Herring Gulls are increasingly dapper and snowy-headed beasts, with bright bills, legs and eyerings showing.
A couple of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers were here and there- including the yard, and Fish Crows are now, a bit late, forming in pairs in their big flocks- the Plain Trees in Cape May proper look quite like something out of Hithchock’s Bodega Bay with the little raven-like crows.
And given just how feeble the Woodcock have looked the past few days-in the snow at Higbee’s and elsewhere, it was indeed good to see them foraging with success along sun-warmed roadsides today.
All for now, and I daresay, lucky will I be if I get out this weekend to greet the first Piping Plovers!
Mar
2
After the snow in Cape May
Filed Under Spring Migration, Winter Birds | 2 Comments
There were a few unexpected birds tucked here and there around a Cape Island blanketed with snow today.
Most surprising were number of birds in the middle of streets today-I suppose ploughed macadam being the only surface relatively free of snow, and a little out of the wind. Mainly butterbutts and numbers of sparrows were eking out a day’s forage in the road, but also a pair of quite buffy Ameican Pipits wagging and pumping, and barely getting out of the way of the car were literally on Sunset Blvd today.
Most of the Sparrows utilising this oppurtunity were Savannahs and Songs (both of which are beginning to get on the road north about now-so to speak) but there was also a rather unexpected Vesper Sparrow near the Meadows Parking lot.
9 Horned Larks were in fields along Bayshore Rd. and were on top of the wind-blown snow, energetically leaping up with a flutter to pick seeds from the heads of weeds tall enough to emerge from the white-stuff.
Most of the passerines sitting in the roads looked rather miserable-the Butterbutts especially had a bit of wind and cold-weary feebleness in their pace today.
Otherwise, a Melin was sitting on a telephone pole, a herd of Fish Crows was in West Cape May, and there are still thousands and thousands of Scoter in the bay-despite the incredible surf, chop, and surge.