Day 238: August 25th – Skimmers and more….

Overcast, high70s, calm

       When we visited the “Brig” yesterday, we were surprised that we had not seen any Black skimmers.  These master fishers are commonly found during the summer months at the first canal you pass on the Wildlife Drive, but the tide was extremely high yesterday making it difficult to locate and grab their prey.

       We returned today for a quick run around the drive in an attempt to get one more view of the Reddish egret we found yesterday.  One of our hosts from this weekend had not been with us yesterday, and we hoped to find the bird for him on this go-round.  It was not to be…..BUT…..the skimmers were back!

       We could have spent hours just watching these superb fliers ply their trade and they fly inches away from the water’s surface with their lower mandible dipped down into the water. 

       Occasionally, the bird would come up empty.  This bird was obviously frustrated with a near miss.

     Second time was the charm, however, as you can see from this photo.  A stipped killifish was the prize for his continued efforts.  We actually photographed several with their prey in their bills, an indication that there are probably more successful runs than disappointments.

       The other expert fishers have to be the terns.  The major players here at the Brig at this time of year are the Forster’s terns.  They have an uncanny ability to hover above the water and then plunge into the canals, usually emerging with prey in their beaks.  Fun to watch….unless you are the prey.

       Following our trek around the loop, we headed southwest to the Maurice River in Millville, New Jersey.  We took a two hour cruise down the river, much of which is preserved by the Nature Conservancy, in search of Bald Eagles.  There is a greater concentration of Bald eagles here in Cumberland County than anywhere else in the state and they did not disappoint.  We had two active eagles’ nests, one with an adult and a single juvenile sitting on the nest.  It’s rare to find a location in the northeast where you can be pretty sure of sighting an eagle every time you go out.  This happens to be one of those special places.

      It was one of those days when we just headed out on a whim, not knowing for sure what we would find, only to be rewarded with some fine sightings of some of your favorite birds.  Fall birding is in the air, and the leading edge of some great trips is obviously arrived.