Godwits at Dusk

Sam Galick reported two Marbled Godwits on Bunker Pond in Cape May Point State Park at 8PM this evening. This birds were still busily feeding as the light eventually faded away 45 minutes later - a good test for our optics though! Semipalmated Plovers have been noticeably on the move today and Black-crowned Night Herons continue to 'Kwok' overhead at dusk. The three Black-bellied Whistling-ducks gave Sam and I a great fly-by as they flew in to Bunker Pond at around 8.15PM. These birds have been pretty immobile this past week, spending much of their days snoozing with the Mallards on Lighthouse Pond and it occurred to me that maybe they are choosing to feed more at night to avoid too much human disturbance. This is a fabulous duck in flight and those dapper white wing bars look particularly good after sunset. Sam and I also had a party of six Orchard Orioles making their way along the south edge of Lighthouse Pond - perhaps a bit of 'migratory restlessness as night draws on.

The weather forecast looks reasonable for a morning flight tomorrow, though winds are turning Northeast to East after midnight - but better than the southwesterlies we've been having.

Not a great picture, but the sun had already set! One of the two Marbled Godwits at Bunker Pond this evening. Both were typically rather washed-out adults - note the rather bleached appearance of the old feathers on the face and underparts [photo by Mike Crewe].