Martins Mass in Mauricetown, & Great-horned's in Villas

Janet Crawford reports that the Purple Martin show in Mauricetown has begun in earnest, with an estimated 20,000 there this evening. To see the show, go to the bridge at dusk, there is a parking area off to the right as you approach the bridge from the east/Route 47. This is another site listed in the Delaware Bayshore Birding and Wildlfie Trail, go to http://www.njwildlifetrails.org/BwtWeb/SiteDetails.aspx?si=17 for more info.

Three Great-horned owls flushed from the woods lining the east golf cart path at the Villas Wildlife Management Area, a.k.a the old Ponderlodge Golf Course, this evening. Two of them shrieked the begging call of juvenile GHO's. Dragonflies were in the zillions at Villas this evening (that's an estimate, not an actual count), setting me to wondering about migrating Merlins pausing at the WMA for a snack in just a few weeks.