Friday, March 19, 2010

A few spring arrivals

This first-year drake Common Eider continues on the bay side of Sandy Hook, as does the Iceland Gull on the North Beach.

Recent spring arrivals seen on the very tip of Sandy Hook have been Purple Martin (today), Wilson's Snipe (yesterday), Eastern Phoebe (several were around yesterday, heard only one today), and Northern Flicker. (This last species is found year-round in the holly forest on the middle part of the Hook; birds seen at the tip are usually migrants.) Tree Swallows were seen practically every day of the count this week, most around mid-week.

In other news: I read here that Northern Gannets started moving north past Cape May last Wednesday. In my previous post I noted that I hadn't seen any gannets here on the Hook yet, which I found strange considering I saw huge numbers here this time of year two years ago. Today I did see three Northern Gannets during the count late afternoon, and later during an evening beach walk two more. They are coming...

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