There was a lot of movement in the city today but much less out here where the weather stayed unsettled -- a lot warmer but partly cloudy and a bit windy with only patches of sunshine. The major new appearance of the day was a singing Gray Catbird but there were other 'new' (seasonally new to this recent arrival. that is) birds as well: a single swallow (not a Tree or Barn but a Bank!), a noisy Greater Yellowlegs, a squeaky male Cowbird, Mourning Doves and a pair of Anas ducks that were not Mallards or Black Duck (they popped up from the pond and into the sun but appeared to be widgeon). With yesterday's fog only a memory, the local Osprey were well in view on Pine Neck. N. Flicker was flicking away along with the Red-bellied Woodpeckers and a pair of Downy Woodpeckers that seemed to be excavating a nest hole. Amidst the myriad American Crows, a single pair of Fish Crows were courting. Fish Crows are a coming bird on Eastern LI!
I got several inquiries about the Wild Onions mentioned in yesterday's post. What did we do with them? The scallion-like shoots were cut off and will be chopped up raw in a salad or two. However, after careful cleaning, the bulbs were lightly sauteed in olive oil and made a delicious first course for dinner.
On Sunday, I'm doing a walk for ELIAS (Eastern Long Island Audubon Society) at Maple Swamp. Meeting place is on Pleasure Drive near the old horse meadow at 8 am (that's Sunday, May 4th). We'll walk all the way in to the Maple Swamp Pond and back so, depending on how good the birding is, it should take us 2-3 hours.
Eric Salzman
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