The End of Meteorological Winter
Thirty-four. Fitting that it’s still raining. We’ve seen precious little snow this winter, and my last hopes of scarce northern visitors are fading. Perhaps, as sometimes happens, March will bring a blizzard.
The Plummer’s Hollow 200 stands at a respectable 68 species, and I expect another 25 new ones for the year during March. Hopefully, the NFC antenna will provide some gems. If we’re very lucky, the Big Year will pass 100 species by the end of the month.
Meanwhile, back in sodden February, everything’s late to get going. It’s a testament to Song Sparrows that they do make the effort to sing—at 6:26 AM—and, not surprisingly, so does the Carolina Wren, a sudden three ‘cheeseburgers.’ The early, land-based crowd all vocalizes in some form or another, in fact, by 6:36, but nothing goes airborne even though the rain has tapered to a mist.
Only 16 species this dawn, with such notables as the Canada Geese missing. The big story today is the Common Merganser. At 6:52 AM, a male-female pair goes over Brush Mountain, heading southwest. A bit after seven, a flock of 14 crosses high and fast over town, also from the east.
Mergansers and Yet More Mergansers
At lunchtime, with a stiff west wind and cumuli, raptors are finally up and about, some of the local crowd: Red-tailed Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, a few Turkey Vultures. Eighteen Common Mergansers zoom out of the Gap from the east.
After work, I take one last February walk to the pond, and to my surprise, the head-tucked, L-shaped formation continues. Twenty-four Mallards, a defensive pair of Canada Geese, the indefatigable young American Wigeon, and a male Wood Duck, possibly the same one we’ve been seeing (and hearing) off and on this winter. The flock disembarks and floats away from me without panicking, while the woodie does a disappearing act.
Back at the Plummer’s Hollow crossing, a flock of 21 Common Mergansers goes over, heading west, and then another pair. That’s 57 for the day, though it is certainly possible that there are some repeats (I’ve not seen any going east, however).