Good afternoon everyone.
This morning I was fortunate in that I believed the weather report of a sunny day with cloudy periods and caught the 5:30 am bus and headed down to The Spit to start my now to June visits and because I did put my faith in the always accurate :-) weather forecasts I fell into it again and came out smelling like the Sweat Clover that has filled The Spit this year.
At 9:21 am this morning while looking at some juvenile Baltimore Orioles on Peninsula D the Orioles and Robins and Cedar Waxwings all took flight. I looked up expecting a Red-tailed Hawk or some such bird but to my surprise a Juvenile Black Vulture came into view and circled over me just above the trees for about a half a minute. Long and low enough for me to note the dull looking plumage and the black bill.
The bird then moved off and circled Peninsula C for about another half minute putting up some of the Cormorants and Gulls in the area and it then moved further west and out of my sight.
I also noted 450+ Tree Swallows, 250+ Barn Swallows and 250+ Bank Swallows milling and feeding between The Base and Peninsula D with most near the second gate on The Base. The usual pre migration staging but this time they chose The Spit on a day they could be observed. Red-winged Blackbirds have also gathered in (small) flocks on The Spit.
I only birded about 1/3 of The Spit before I was rained out but all other birds were the usual suspects such as Willow Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Yellow Warbler, Northern Flicker, Song and Savannah Sparrows, Belted Kingfishers, Lesser Yellowlegs and of course Common and Caspian Terns and the growth of foliage is phenomenal down there.
Be aware that there are many Red Ants on The Spit. They got me today.
