One swallow doesn't make a summer, but could three raptors suggest that something's up with fall migration? After not seeing anything but Redtailed Hawks for several weeks, this morning (before the rain re-arrived) I found an immature Sharpshinned Hawk by Bay D and a pair of Northern Harriers hunting near the lighthouse. In the Triangle Pond, there have been Wood Ducks for at least the last two weeks. They're very shy and tend to huddle in the reeds at the north end of the pond. Also this morning the resident beaver was out, along with Mallards and Hooded Mergansers. Spotted Sandpipers were working the lily pads there, and there was also a Kingfisher (female), Great Blue Heron, and Blackcrowned Night Heron. Elsewhere on the spit, I watched either an alder or willow flycatcher feeding on berries from a mountain ash, and among several Baltimore Orioles saw one female Orchard Oriole. On the dragonfly front, squadrons of Common Green Darters were maneuvering above every open field.
