...in a Blue Moon...

I was up before dawn this morning and saw the Blue Moon and it really looked blue. Okay, Blue Moon minus half a day and the color was undoubtedly in my imagination. For anyone who doesn't know, a Blue Moon occurs when there are two full moons in a month, some that only happens when there are 31 days in the month and the moon is full on Days 1 & 31.

There were no less than four Green Herons sitting in the dead Red Cedar by the pond (Blue Moon watching no doubt). And three male American Goldfinches were sitting in a dead tree just back of the marsh -- still in breeding plumage but perhaps slightly worse for the wear.

There appeared to be a bit of migration this morning but with the same birds as earlier in the week: Great Crested Flycatcher, several Common Yellowthroats (including one young male with his mask coming in), several Northern Waterthrushes, American Redstart. Also Royal Terns on the creek and a surprising number of swallows -- mostly or all Barns.

Sue Krause points out that I called the Hairy Woodpecker a migrant when it is always described a resident, non-migratory species. She's right, of course, but we never see this woodpecker in breeding season down here (it breeds mostly back in the pine barrens) and it always reappears here regularly in the fall and winter together with the migrants. They do apparently move around some in migration season which is my excuse for considering it a migrant.

Eric Salzman