Nummy Island ~ More spring arrivals

Spring at Nummy Island is always a treat as the shorebirds begin to arrive bringing life back to the area.  It gives me hope after a long winter.

Yellow Legs

Killdeer

Little Blue Heron

Black-bellied Plover

Nummy Island

The Black-bellied Plovers have arrived though they are not in breeding plumage yet.  There are Ospreys all over the county including here.  The Red-breasted Mergansers, Brant, Common Loons and Red-throated Loons are still here.  The American Oystercatchers are flying overhead and calling.  The Red-winged Blackbirds are too numerous to count, have established a territory and are also calling.  Spring is in the air though the weather isn't cooperating.

Whimbrel have arrived!

Every year there are certain birds I look for during the spring migration. Two of these birds are the Whimbrel (below) and also the Clapper Rails.

  Mind you I am not an experienced birder having only been birding just over 2 years but there are still birds that have caught my fancy.  I know they'll be more birds as the years go by especially since my overall bird list numbers isn't that high yet.  So for the past week on the way home from work I have been stopping by Nummy Island and today I was rewarded with sights of at least 2 dozen Whimbrel mixed with Black-bellied Plovers, Dunlin, Dowitchers and other shorebirds.

It was also cool to see the Whimbrel take off and land again.

One of the things I noticed while driving along Nummy Island were the great numbers of Red Admiral butterflies flying up over the bridge and along the island traveling from the South to the North.  There were hundreds of them flying through and when I got home they were in my gardens also.