Black-crowned night herons have arrived, with a couple coming close to the house to rest for awhile. First there was only one, then two days later, a pair. At dawn on the morning of April 5, there were four on a snag projecting over the water, while above and to the left of them three Great White Egrets were arrayed a few feet from one another, remaining from an overnight roost. Our little nature preserve is waking from a long winter.
Another new arrival was a Yellow-shafted Flicker hunting the edge of a neighbor’s rock for ants or their allies. On a walk at Belmont Park a few miles north of here, the cry of an osprey – the first I have seen this year – caught my attention and it flew right over me with a fine fish clutched firmly below it; most likely a trout recently stocked by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. I approve that tax expenditure.Also at Belmont, two American Coots were diving for their lunch off the lee of a small island, another new season sighting. Not far from them half a dozen crows perched and another group streaked over the lake heading in their direction. Some crows stay the winter, but numbers are higher now than a few weeks ago as southern cousins come north again.
Regulars abound. As I write, a bright red male Cardinal, one of the noxious Starlings and a handful of aggressive White-throated Sparrows are scouring the feeding area next to me. A Song Sparrow is doing its little shuffle-hop under a bush to unearth seeds that others may have covered up. A Northern Junco joins the mix – perhaps the last visit, as that species seems to wander off for the summer each year.
Meanwhile, a Robin is prowling for worms at the edge of the pond and a Downy Woodpecker has had a brief snack at the suet cage as has a female Cardinal, who finds it a bit more difficult to hold on. Persistent nonetheless, she returns to perch on top and lean far over to grab at the fat. I suspect she is loading up to help her grow the next generation.
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