So, another weekend of bad wind spells bad news for Lori and Tara since they really want to see some birds. We spent a few hours wandering around Higbee beach. Their dog took off after something in the woods. I mildly told them that the dog was gone. They chased after him and eventually found him. We still didn't see any birds. We went to the diner for breakfast to pass some time.
Then, we went to a new place in search of sparrows. I scoped out the place last week and got torn up by sticker bushes so I decided to bring a pair of pruning sheers with me to cut my way through the brush. And then Lori said - "you should get a machete". As luck would have it, we were driving past the North End Thrift Store at that exact moment so in we went. Guess what? They sell machetes at the thrift store. We got one for $12. Here I am modeling the latest in machete wear.
The machete wasn't very sharp. We should have assumed that any machete purchased at a thrift store in The Villas would not be sharp. This is what happened to Barbara when she tried to cut through the sticker bushes - the sticker bush slapped her back! We almost peed ourselves watching her swipe at the plant only to be slapped in the neck. It's mearly a flesh wound.
Despite the terrible birding conditions, I did manage to get some good photos. The first 2 photos are of Widgeon. There has been a rare Widgeon in Cape May for the last few years. This guy is a Eurasian Widgeon. Notice the difference. The Eurasian bird has a reddish head while the American bird has a green eye patch with a yellow forehead.
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| Eurasian Widgeon |
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| American Widgeon |
Next up is a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron that put on a show right next to the path at the State Park. Of course, he never came into the sun, but still good photo opp.
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| Black-crowned Night Heron |
This was an amazing photo of a Merlin that screamed into view, landed and then took off again in about 30 seconds. I snapped this photo which is pretty good just before he took off.
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| Merlin |
Finally, Tara noticed this cute tree frog sleeping in a Bluebird box at the State Park. Adorable.
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| Tree Frog |
Hopefully the winds will shift and bring Lori some warblers.
2 comments:
Funny post with great pictures. You could spend your lunch hours this week sharpening the machete! HH
I've been wondering a lot lately about "bushwacking". I hear that term a lot. But now I'm afraid of the bushes wacking me back!
Love the tree frog.
MD
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