A couple of handsome male American Goldfinches spent a good part of their morning trying to chase away a female or immature House Finch. Eventually they gave up and dropped down to the shrub level where they appeared to feed on the burgeoning Iva fructescens (a.k.a. Marsh Elder or High Tide Bush). This is very early for flowering let along fruiting of this salt marsh shrub but the plants are infested with some kind of small flea-like insect and perhaps that is what the Goldfinches were eating.
Still in the area: adult and young E. Phoebes, Great Crested Flycatcher, a Great Blue Heron, a pair of Green Herons, Pine Warbler, A lone Bank Swallow continues to appear over the marsh along with Barn Swallows and Purple Martins. Both Osprey nests are active but I still can't see if there are ospreylets in either one.
Here's some more flowers in bloom: Daisy Fleabane, Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia), Ox-eye Daisy (the familiar daisy) and Coreopsis or Tick-seed.
Eric Salzman
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment