Gray Day
Did downpours of the night leave the avifauna sodden? Otherwise it’s hard for me to explain today’s dip in species numbers (17) and activity. Except for American Robins and Song Sparrows, dawn is late and sparse today, with minimal singing and almost nothing in the air save a couple Common Grackles until the indefatigable European Starlings arrive at 7:22. One highlight is a Great Blue Heron from out of the Gap at 6:52, but waterfowl are nowhere to be seen or heard.
Around 7:40, a pair of small corvids flies in and about the banks of Bald Eagle Creek between the red brick apartment building and the VFW, making it hard for me to see what they’re up to. Landing in the trees, they emit nasal Fish Crow calls, and when they perch on the roof for a bit I’m able to snap a few blurry pics. One has snagged something large in its beak. Perhaps noticing me and my lens, they don’t linger, heading off toward Pennsylvania Avenue. Later, from the other side of the house, I hear them about and active.
I make a later afternoon trip up to get the NFC data from the last couple of nights. Sadly, despite a manure-scented breeze from the southeast on Wednesday, very little went over.
Down in the Hollow, I come upon eight gobblers crossing the stream, heading back up Laurel Ridge, I would guess toward a night roost, after a day of foraging across the mountain.
At the pond, all is quiet but for a pair of Mallards and a Canada Goose. I would guess it’s the male, out in the open water with neck down. I think the gander is out of sight on the nest, which can’t be seen from this angle.
Every year it’s the same: a pair of geese and a pair of Mallards nest here, eventually walking their broods over the tracks and down to the river. The Mallards then nest a second time.