May is here and we have moved out to our place in East Quogue. We actually moved yesterday and were pleased to see that everything is okay. The house is in good shape and, while the woods still show some of the after effects of Irene and the winter storms of a year or two earlier, the vegetation and the birds are definitely showing all the signs of this year's rebirth; in fact, I don't remember spring being ever so advanced out here as early as the end of April. Many flowers are in bloom including Periwinkle (almost gone!), Lily of the Valley (coming in strong), High-bush Blueberry as well as the various oaks and hickories. I didn't see many obvious long-distance migrants but there were two Purple Martins over the creek, a Baltimore Oriole calling somewhere, a Red-tailed Hawk in the trees and then soaring over the creek trying to avoid the dive-bomb attacks of a pair of crows. A very cheery sound was the fresh and vibrant trill of a very active Pine Warbler with as bright a yellow breast as I have ever seen on this species. Pine Warbler, which have nested here for several years, are a typical Pine Barrens species (yes, our place is really an outlier of the Pine Barrens) as well as a classic early arrival and hence one of our most dependable signs of spring!
Heavy rain and a touch of post-moving exhaustion kept me inside this morning but an early afternoon walk produced two more warblers (Yellow-rumped and Yellow), a singing Warbling Vireo, another singing Baltimore Oriole, quite a few White-throated Sparrows and a dozen or more Purple Martins all gathered at the hanging gourds that constitute their nesting colony. They seemed to be conveying the strong view that "It's good to be back" and it's a message we heartily agree with!
Eric Salzman
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