The mergansers continue their pattern of being unpredictably predictable. We found a nest already started on our first day of monitoring, but it wasn’t in the expected location; rather, we found four eggs in box #13, nearest the observation tower.
The work went a little quicker than past years, because now we have only fourteen boxes to check. After reviewing our records back to 2006, we had asked Dave Lawlor of the park staff to remove five boxes that haven’t been producing.
The weather was unusually pleasant for February, with clouds giving way to sun by mid-morning.
M.K. used a GPS to get latlongs of the boxes and produced a nifty map.
Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) are already chattering (seems early for them); the light frosting of red on the maples is barely perceptible at distance. On the way back to the cars, above the boardwalk I saw a big black bird riding a thermal, a bird with a flash of white. The rest of the team confirmed my guess (I’d left my bins at home): Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus).