Sprung Spring

The evening of spring 2011, a sign of the summer to come appeared briefly. A Great White Egret swept majestically into view, flew across the open water and alighted in one of the trees that have been roosting spots for egrets over the past dozen years or so. Their numbers dwindled to just four or five last summer, but we are hopeful they will climb again, especially with a visit so early in the year.

Normally the egrets first appear in early May or late April, so the visit this week provides us with a flicker of hope for more stately visitors. The first bird stayed only a few minutes and did not spend the night but the occasion was a delight as the bird’s pure white image brightened a still grey and stark landscape which was threatened with light snowfall overnight.   

A noisy blue jay and a sleek black grackle -- the first of the season -- were on hand within minutes of one another on March 19. As they prowled the feeding area, a Song Sparrow belted out its call from a high bush and a Red-bellied Woodpecker flitted at the edge of the pond. A species that stays on Long Island throughout the winter, the Red-bellied are usually closer to heavy woods rather than suburban areas.

Watching the woodpeckers on the suet and trees is one thing (there is a snowy at the suet cage today), but, the little peckers may be getting endangered here. We just found a series of holes drilled in the siding of the house as well as a whole chunk of cedar shingle chiseled away. A few repairs can be dealt with, but we are now on alert for drumming sounds on our abode and I may have to unholster the slingshot if they are in the wrong place…

Male Goldfinches are starting to show a little yellow; they must be timed to coincide with daffodils, the first of which around here should be blooming in days. At the water’s edge, we tend to run up to two weeks behind blooms in warmer spots in the vicinity. Robins are more in evidence, scouting after a night’s rain for fat earthworms and flicking through the area on a regular basis now.

Elsewhere in the area, the river herrings I track each year, aka alewives, have appeared early. Sightings in three area freshwater streams well ahead of the usual early April arrival indicates a healthy population, which is getting a lot of support lately. A new fish ladder was installed for them last week a few miles from Babylon and there is word that one is scheduled for us, just a couple of hundred yards from here. Restoring their access to upriver breeding grounds promises much improved health for the entire ecosystem along the coast. Alewives are a prime feed for seals, whales and a variety of big fish, from Striped Bass and Bluefish to Cod and Tuna.

A few mergansers and scaup remain in area ponds, but they will soon be headed north. There's movement in the air.