A Bit of This and That:
Somebody got a little excited about Easter and laid an egg this week. The abandoned egg was on the side of the Lake Chipican trail. Canada Goose Egg. (Length: 3.3 inches or 8.3 c.m. The Cornell Lab, All About Birds)
A Canada Goose has again chosen a nesting location on top of a building at the Animal Farm. The Cornell lab says geese choose locations where they can see in all directions and this spot definitely fits that requirement!
Another unconventional nest site was investigated by a Mallard Hen who spent over 10 minutes checking out the location. The offspring of this ground nesting bird would not be happy dropping to the forest floor after hatching. An hour later when I checked again, it appeared she had abandoned the idea.
The Grey Eastern Screech Owl made a rare appearance early Saturday morning.
The Modeland Road Flooded Field provides a great rest and feeding stop during migration for many species, including these 4 Wilson's Snipe. They feed by burying their bills deep into soft, wet soil to probe for insect larvae, worms and other invertebrates. The bill is at least 3 times the length of the head. The bill's flexible tip can open to grasp food while the base of the bill stays closed. Snipe can slurp small prey from the mud without having to remove their bill from the soil. (The Cornell Lab, All About Birds.)
It is very disappointing that these flooded fields are being developed into a residential area and will not be available as a migration stop in the near future.
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