Things are starting to pick up. I’ve been hanging out at  Sandy Point and Greenbury Point waiting for more birds to show, and today might have been the breakthrough.

I started at Sandy point, where I found a couple of decent shore birds, then went on to Greenbury Point.

I found plenty of activity right off the bat, including some birds I hadn’t seen there in a while. I think migration is under way!

I haven’t seen a Blue Gray Gnatcatcher at Greenbury since the Spring.

Eastern Kingbirds may be gathering to migrate.

This Downy Woodpecker was eating noisily.

It’s been weeks since I’ve found a Red Eyed Vireo.

A Great Crested Flycatcher was busily gforaging .

This Caspian Tern was at Sandy point.

I usually see Semi Palmated Plovers on the Eastern shore.

Least Sandpipers were foraging high on the beach.

This Snowy was feeding in the surf at Sandy Point.

This Willet didn’t belong at Sandy point at all, and was a rare treat.

You can find Goldfinches at Greenbury Point all year.

I seldom see Yellow Warblers at Greenbury Point.

Today’s bugs.

I stayed close to home today, and started at Sandy Point. I did see a nice Fox, but not a single bird worthy of  a photo.

Greenbury Point is only 10 minutes away, so I headed there next in hopes of finding some butterflies or early migrants.

I did see a few of the usual butterflies, and bird activity was better than usual, but I didn’t find anything really interesting.

Indigo Buntings seem to nest here every year,

Like last year, Eastern Kingbirds seem to gathering in numbers.

This Cardinal is molting.

Several Skippers were feeding near the nursery center.

I saw more Goldfinches than usual.

Several Skippers were feeding near the nursery center.

I posted the statement below i response to an “All news is fake news” post, and FB says: “This comment goes against our Community Standards on hate speech.” That is wayyyyy overboard.

What do you think?

“The news is just fine-better than ever, in fact because it’s so much easier to fact-check. I notice that you “Fake News” folks never post any verifiable such news from legitimate sources. Could it be because IT DOESN’T EXIST? Any mainstream source that published false or misleading news would be out of business in a hurry, unless it had a loyal audience of uneducated, brain-dead white trash. Third party votes are stupid. In most cases they are wasted votes.”

Back to Bombay Hook this morning because there’s still not much going on locally.

I arrived at dawn, but the sunrise wasn’t interesting, so I made a quick circuit as the sun rose. It was clear that many birds were visiting, so I went more slowly the second time around.

I didn’t find much in the way of migrating birds, but it was good to see that numbers are increasing. I also found a couple of friends who were visiting as well.

Many Caspian Terns were feeding in the marsh.

I saw at least three Eastern Kingbirds.

There were only two Black Necked Stilts.

I don’t see Bald Eagles in flight very often at Bombay Hook.

Many Great Egrets were feeding in the marsh.

Short Billed Dowitchers aren’t getting close to the camera.

I saw many Greater Yellowlegs, mostly in the distance.

Great Blue Herons were in every pool.

I found three juvenile Yellow Crowned Night Herons at Bear Swamp Pool. I’ve only seen this bird once before.

I went to Blackwater yesterday, with Chris, an old friend, then to Bombay Hook this morning. Blackwater was almost a total bust, with cloudy, rainy weather, but Bombay Hook was much better.

We had good light all morning, and saw thousands of interesting, but mostly distant birds. Small Sandpipers were the major species, but there were also Avocets, Geese, Terns and Egrets.  A couple of Night Herons and an Eagle provided a nice show as well.

Great Blue Herons were scattered here and there.

Great

We saw several Great Blue Herons.

3-4 CAspian Terns were fishing in Shearness Pool.

Several small flocks of Short Billed Dowitchers were feeding in the marsh.

We found a few Semi Palmated Plovers.

This Blue Grosbeak was singing loudly.

Two Bald Eagles were sunning themselves near the road.

These Gulls were taking a break.

We found Forster’s Terns at Blackwater.

Two juvenile Black Crowned Night Herons were preening in Bear Swamp Pool.

The weather has been unsettled for the last several days. You never know if it’s going to pour rain or blaze sunshine, and it can change in just a few minutes.

I’ve been hanging out at Sandy Point, because it’s nearby and I don’t have to go far from the car if I need shelter. There’s always a chance of finding stray birds there, as well, and I’ve found a few.

Today’s Tri-colored Heron was a treat, tagged as “Rare” by Ebird, along with a few nice Terns and plenty of the usual gulls.

There’s always plenty of Crows at Sandy Point.

4-5 Royal Terns were hanging out on the beach today.

Laughing Gulls and others seem to like bathing in the puddles on the beach.

I don’t often see Common Terns.

I couldn’t pass up this Black Vulture.

Several Ospreys are fishing at the park.

I’ve seen two Tri-colored Herons this year, and I don’t see any at all most years.

I spotted this Fox as I was waiting for the sunrise.

Another day, another decision. Bombay Hook wins out because there’s still not much to see locally. This is a minor deal to me because I’m no fond of the hour and a half drive, largely in the dark, which is getting to be a small problem on some days.

Anyway, it turned out to be a good day weather-wise, if not as good as I’d hoped, bird-wise.

I don’t often hit these places on weekends, but it wasn’t too bad. More people than usual, but not crowded by any means.

Wading birds are still relatively scarce, but I got a good look at some passerines, so that made up for it.

Dawn at Bombay Hook.

Many Least Sandpipers were feeding on the mud flats.

A single Black-necked Stilt was in Bear Swamp Pool.

This might be a Lesser Yellowlegs.

Great Blue Herons are usually very quiet as they fly.

Many Goldfinches were feeding along the road side.

I hear Marsh Wrens frequently, but they can be hard to find.

This Great Egret was one of only a few I saw.

These Egrets seemed to be snoozing.

Red Winged Blackbirds make good images in the right setting.

I saw only a few Forster’s Terns.

I found this Mockingbird Saturday at Lake Artemesia.

This Northern Flicker was also at Artemesia.

Blue grosbeaks seem to be more visible than usual.

It’s still pretty slow around here, so I went to Blackwater this morning. Wading birds are still in short supply, but the Ospreys are about to fledge, and my Red Headed friends are very active.
I checked out the Swallows and Terns at the bridge on Key Wallace Drive, and was lucky enough to run into a River Otter. Otters are cool, and I don’t see enough of them.

Sunrise at Blackwater NWR.

This great Blue Heron was the first bird I saw this morning.

These young Osprey will be flying soon.

The adult Red Headed Woodpecker is still feeding this youngster.

This Eastern Kingbird was flycatching on Key Wallace Drive.

A few Forster’s Terns have settled in along Wildlife Drive.

Bald Eagles are usually easy to find.

This River Otter was a real treat.

We’ve had too many days of rain lately, which has kept me confined to local spots. Today looked a little more promising, so I took a chance and went to Bombay Hook. There’s nothing worse than committing to a 3 hour drive and then running into bad weather.

I lucked out, weather-wise, but it took a couple of hours before the sun was out and the clouds dispersed. From 6:00-8:00 I found almost nothing, but the sun brought in a lot of birds quickly. Avocets and Ibis were the best, but a fair number of Egrets and Herons were around as well.  Some passerines in the roadside bushes added to the fun.

Several Eastern Kingbirds were flycatching near the road.

This group of Least Sandpipers looked to number 75 or more.

Great Egrets were in every pool.

I only saw a few Greater Yellowlegs.

5 Glossy Ibis flew over the marsh without stopping.

It always seems odd to see so many Egrets in a tree.

8-10 Short-billed Dowitchers flew overhead.

There are always many Goldfinches at Bombay Hook.

A couple of Blue Grosbeaks were a nice treat.

40-50 American Avocets were foraging in the marsh.

I was hoping to go to the Eastern Shore this morning, but it was pouring rain when I awoke, so I went back to bed and waited for the rain to stop.

I decided to try Sandy point again, because these brief storms sometimes bring stray birds to the beach. I managed to get lucky, even though the light wasn’t much good with the cloudy skies that often show after a storm.

Two Caspian Terns waited calmly for breakfast.

Two Snowy Egrets stopped by briefly.

I saw this Samderling from a distance, and he walked right up to me.

This Ring Billed Gull has found a meal.

I was lucky to spot this Glossy Ibis who flew overhead very quickly.