O What a beautiful Green Heron morning

There's no doubt that early in the morning is a time that you see things you don't see later in the day. Sunrise is about 6:20 these days although the sun doesn't actually rise above the trees on Pine Neck (directly opposite us on the other side of Weesuck Creek) until after 6:30. As I made it down to the pond shortly thereafter, I was surprised to see no less than four Green Herons perched around the pond -- three of them on the dead Red Cedar on the opposite bank and one on a dead stub on the near side. Although it was hard to make out, I believe the bird on the near side was an adult and the other three were young birds of the year. All of them flew except one very immature looking bird that looked to me like the runt of the litter -- scruffy looking with a lot of baby feathers still covering his head and very reluctant to fly (tide was high and he was probably waiting for low tide and a chance to rummage in the pond mud for food). I've seen birds like that in past years and I believe that breeding herons, like certain owls, start sitting as soon as their eggs are laid so that the young emerge on different days. If there is not enough food for the entire brood, the youngest and smallest is unlikely to make it so that the older ones can survive (but this young 'un seems to be hanging in).

An Osprey, perched in a Pitch Pine a little further up, provided a sound track with its persistent yelps. And a ticking in the marsh grass opposite proved to be a Marsh Wren, first one I've seen this season.

There were also several Common Yellowthroats along the front range of shrubs facing east -- difficult to say whether they were migratory drop-ins or local birds. The certain migrants were a Hairy Woodpecker, a couple of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and an American Redstart.

Eric Salzman