The rollercoaster that is spring birding continues its ups and downs; after two days of rain, we were blessed with sun today, albeit with a chilly breeze at first. The birds responded well and this morning's Cape May Point walk enjoyed
Osprey, a good run of close
Northern Gannets, the lingering male
Eurasian Wigeon and two
River Otters (as well as a nice
Raccoon). Also of note on the walk was the 25 or so
Double-crested Cormorants that passed north in small groups - a clear sign of migration in action. Later in the day,
Purple Martins and
Tree Swallows were back at the Beanery (visible over the willow pond from Bayshore Road, just north of the Bayshore/Stevens St junction) and
Forster's Terns and a
Black-headed Gull were at the concrete ship.
As well as birds, spring butterflies are showing when the weather is warm; both
Eastern Comma and
Summer Azure were flying at the Northwood Center today.
The taxonomy of the genus Celastrina was tackled recently by Wright and Pavulaan (1999), resulting in most of us being mighty confused! If I understand things correctly though, this is a Summer Azure Celastrina neglecta. [Photo by Mike Crewe]
It all bodes well for the coming weekend....
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