an orange August moon

A startling moonrise last night. A giant orange full moon was reflected in the creek as it rose over Pine Neck making a truly magical spectacle. As the moon continued to rise and turned from orange to white, it created a flood of clear moonlight over the landscape.

In spite of the promise of that August moon, this morning was heavily overcast with high humidity. No moon, no sun, no sky and only a hazy visibility through the thick wet muggy air. That didn't stop the Royal Terns that were noisily flying up and down the creek, each adult always accompanied by a calling immature bird. The tide has circled around to early morning lows and there were both Spotted Sandpipers (adult and an immature) and a few Least Sandpipers working the mud.

I startled a Carolina Wren (in a spot where I don't usually see this species) singing an elaborate and tuneful medley only to discover that there were two birds involved. Perhaps this highly elaborated version of the wren's normal song is a courtship serenade after all. Also heard a Yellow Warbler song -- rare at this time of the year -- and actually saw a female of the species at the head of the marsh. No sign of yesterday's swifts and swallows which apparently have moved on (the few Barn Swallows in view were probably locals that have not yet moved on out).

Eric Salzman