Black-headed Gull, Turkey Point Birds, Raptor Survey Results, Courting Mergs

[Over 50 Red-breasted Mergansers were assembled in Cape May Harbor near the Nature Center of Cape May on Sunday, with much courting in evidence. Click to enlarge.]

Scott Whittle and Sam Galick had one of the Black-headed Gulls yesterday, where Racetrack Ave. meets the Delaware Bay in North Cape May.

Turkey Point had some great stuff for the Sunday morning walk there. Dave Lord reports: ". . . Three Short-Eared Owls were seen flying around the Peregrine hacking tower, and the Peregrine even visited the tower when a Short-Eared was flying by. We had five Bald Eagles without leaving the road end, and two Red-Tailed Hawks were seen mixing it up with one Eagle that came too close. The Harriers put in a nice showing after last week's sparser numbers, and the Snow Geese Movement was terrific." Dave also reported a dark morph Rough-legged Hawk along Husted Landing Road in Cumberland County.

The results from last weekend's CMBO Winter Marsh Raptor Survey are up on View from the Field. Interesting - harrier numbers dropped since January, but not everywhere.

An adult Black-crowned Night-heron with lovely long head plumes hunkered along Ocean Drive yesterday. In Cape May Point, many scoters are at the mouth of the bay - I estimated 2,000 but there could be many more, since most are out past the curve of the earth.