Fair weather and a trickle of birds

It will be a while before we expect the migration floodgates to open, but a little trickle is getting through and there's certainly a scattering of nice birds around to keep weekend visitors happy. The highlight today was a Little Gull, reported by several birders around lunchtime today from Miami Beach in Villas. A Sandhill Crane was seen flying over The Beanery around 11:30AM but so far I have heard of no further sightings. A Marbled Godwit was seen flying over Stevens Street on 5th, while a Caspian Tern was at Brigantine the same day. At least one Red-headed Woodpecker remains at Cox Hall Creek WMA and a Yellow-throated Warbler was in song there on our Thursday morning walk on 5th. Yellow-crowned Night Herons are secretly sneaking back to their traditional breeding sites on the barrier islands and Black-crowned Night Herons were certainly in evidence when I was at a barbecue with friends last night, calling as they passed overhead - Clapper Rails are pretty noisy after dark now too! For up-to-date news from our walks, be sure to check the latest postings on our Field Trip Reports page.