Posts
Yesterday evening I had the privilege of hearing a Black Rail at South Cape May Meadows. It vocalized regularly for about an hour starting around 7pm. Unfortunately it did not emerge from the brush, though it had done so on previous occasions for other birders. This was a life bird for me. I also heard a King Rail doing its "kek-burrr" call while I was waiting for the Black Rail, and later on a Black-billed Cuckoo emerged from the shrubbery. Sometimes waiting and watching in a single location pays off.
As the weather heats up and birds quiet down, I generally start paying more attention to large flying insects than to birds. Today I saw good numbers of odonates at both the state park and the meadows. I have included a few images of them below.
What I think is a female Orange Bluet:
Eastern Forktail:
A Familiar Bluet:
Two images of a very cooperative Halloween Pennant:
