They are finally showing up! This is the point in the migration that I enjoy the most – when some of the less-seen birds make their appearance. The obvious ducks, geese, and sandhill cranes have come and gone, except for the small group of Ross’s geese that are still staggering around the dikes. The Great Blue herons are still faking invisibility standing in the cat tails peering out like they are trying to make eye contact. The Snowy and Great egrets are here. I am always fascinated by the White-faced Ibis and their antics. They exist for crowd activity! There are not any significant numbers of the sandpiper family, but a few are doing the Willie Nelson “On the Road Again” dance and give us an occasional peek. 

There are some raptors around, also. I have seen Osprey and Kestrels and the obligatory Red-tailed hawk. Eagles are mostly gone – you will have to head north to see them for a while. Northern Harriers must be moving – I don’t see as many as I did.

The birds that make my camera hum right now are the Ibis, night herons, Avocets, and terns.

If you are just enjoying the day and watching birds do aerial displays, you see gulls flying stately up and down the waterways. Then all of a sudden there is an acrobat flying a lot faster and diving smartly into the water to grab a shad or minnow. They dive really hard and go completely out of sight under the water and emerge almost effortlessly with their meal being swallowed almost immediately. They are back on patrol for the next meal in an instant. They are delicate and absolutely beautiful Forster’s Terns. There are some similar terns but right now Forster’s is king. They are as fascinating as the Blue Angels. When a group of 4-5 attacks a group of minnows it is an air show that just stuns you. The black terns come later, and give us another command performance when they show up. 

If you haven’t seen these little guys work the marsh, go out there TODAY and prepare to be absolutely amazed by them. I don’t have words that adequately describe their elegant acrobatics so you will have to go see for yourself.  

We have some water and there are lots of birds to see. This marsh still takes my breath every day. Don’t ever miss a chance to see it in action!

Doc

Doctor Dan Witt can be reached at danwitt01@gmail.com.