Mothers Day Walk

What a great morning!!!

Mother's Day Walk, May 13, 2007

When I arrived, Christine and Barbara had already seen a male Wild Turkey in full display for the nearby female. Before we even got a chance to assemble, we all ran over to watch the action with our binoculars. The birds were physically near the home plate of the baseball field, (but I'm not sure he actually got to first base.) They ducked into the woods when they saw us.
On the way over to Turtle Cove we first heard, and subsequently spent some time watching a Red- bellied Woodpecker. We were amazed that Christine had an incredible talent for duplicating the exact call of any bird, with perfect pitch and intonation! We began walking, only to find that it was high tide in Turtle Cove. I was hoping for some mud flats, so that we could observe the shore birds feasting on the crustaceans. It turned out fine though. First, we had some nice looks at some Great and Snowy Egrets and a Double-crested Cormorant. As we walked around the cove on the paved path, John spotted a Northern Flicker on the gound eating a sesame seeded roll! (It looked pretty good, I almost took it from the bird- there was no coffee though.) Someone had deposited a mountain of yesterday's leftover rolls. The Red-winged Blackbirds and some House Sparrows were also enjoying the feast. We then located the path behind behind the water. (We were socializing so much that we forgot to turn onto it and doubled back.) On the way over, we had some nice looks at a pair of spectacularly orange Baltimore Orioles and a flock of brilliant Yellow Warblers in the sunlight. At the back of the cove were Greater Yellowlegs, Least Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers, a Black crowned Night Heron and a very vocal Marsh Wren. We never got to see him, but heard several others along our walk.
The path around the back of the cove is almost closed to humans as the poison ivy is taking over. In a week or two the path will be inundated and impassable. There were several of the usual birds around, American Robins, Catbirds, Boat tailed and Common Grackles, House Sparrows, Starlings, male and female Red-winged Blackbirds a Mallard or two and lots of Canada Geese. There was Robin's nest along the path at eye level. The nestling was sitting inside looking very cute. Mom was upset, calling loudly. Since it was Mothers Day we left in a hurry, not to upset Mom. Patty soon spotted a Red -tailed Hawk and we all had some great looks as he swooped down close. Later, Patty and Peter found three overhead Osprey, again we all "ooed and aahed" as they swooped overhead. Walking somewhere in Central Woodland, we stopped at a tree filled with birds. John spotted a flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers, Christine was surprised to see more Baltimore Orioles and we got some fabulous views of a very vocal Eastern Towhee. I think it was Peter who spotted a large Racoon staring at us from a nearby tree. That was also a treat. There were also a pair of mating Flickers. We also got a brief glimpse of what appeared to be a Common Yellowthroat.

By that time we had looped back along the path alongside the driving range and found that three hours had passed in a flash. Barbara suggested that the next time we plan to have breakfast somewhere on City Island. It was a fabulous, friendly morning!

If you missed this walk you should try to join us next time.