Where are the Crows of yesterday?

All the noisy crows seem to have abandoned us en masse. I was out early this morning and there was a striking silence. The night insects had shut down and, in the cool, cloudy morning, the day cicadas had not yet started up. There seemed to be just a few birds left at the Purple Martin colony and even the gulls, terns, and Ospreys on the creek were quiet. Only when I reached the open mud flats in the middle of the marsh (the tide was low) was there a little action. First two Least Sandpipers came in and landed on the mud. Then a young Raccoon appeared from out of the clumps of Spartina grass and crossed an open channel to disappear into the densely vegetated far side. And, shortly thereafter, a second young Raccoon did the same. I could hear scraping sounds coming from the area where they went; they were, I think, digging out Ribbed Mussels, one of their favorite foods.

But still no Crows.

A neighbor stopped me on the Randall Lane segment of my morning walk to show me a photograph. It was 'our' Red Fox which apparently sat quite still for its picture in the middle of Randall Lane in the middle of the day. Curiously enough, our neighbor -- a lifetime resident of East Quogue -- was not sure what the animal was. This is a small individual and quite mangy so perhaps that accounts for her confusion. It seems that there was a fox den somewhere in the neighborhood which produced several young kits and this one might have been the runt of the litter -- now out on his or her own.

Two Screech Owls flew into a Cedar tree at dusk last night but I couldn't locate them afterward. The night sounds that followed included the first Katydids of the season. Night insect calls are quite different from the cicadas that sing in the daytime but, aside from the Katydids, I am not sure what insects are involved.

Late breaking news: no less than five Whimbels in and over the Shinnecock Bay marshes in the Tiana Beach area late this morning! More details in tomorrow's post!

Eric Salzman