An unbelievably perfect day.....

......despite the tired feet, aching shoulders, and sore neck that we both had by the end of the day!  We could not have asked for better weather.  70's and sunny.  Light breeze.  Low humidity.  If only Jehovah could have made the sun stand still so that it would have lasted a little longer! 

We got a fairly early start.  Arrived at David Weld Sanctuary before 10:00 a.m.  The sanctuary was a feast for the auditory senses.  There was birdsong everywhere.  The birds were there too, but not satisfying the optical senses quite as much.  It took much more effort to find those virtuosos!  There were many common, backyard birds and a few summer migrants.  (They will be mentioned in another post.)  For the purpose of our blog, we record only the year-round residents.  Our first find was a Brown Thrasher.  (Two actually.)  They posed so beautifully in front of us on tree branches covering our path.  Not quite close enough for a photo, but we were able to get a good long look at them with our binoculars.  After realizing we walked for an hour in a big circle, we set off on another path.  Along the way we heard a beautiful, rich, loud song.  We stopped and scanned the trees.  Nothing.  The sound grew louder.  Nothing.  Finally, the bird flew onto a branch right in front of us.  This loud song was coming from a little Carolina Wren!  What lungs!  After that we continued heading north.  The trees gave way to the blue of the Long Island Sound.  Might as well use these chairs that we've been carrying!  Sat in the sun on the bluff.  We could have stayed there all afternoon, but, of course, we had places to go and birds to see.  While not much was happening birdwise along the shore, we did see some Common Mergansers.  (We had seen them before today, but were not familiar enough with them to make a positive i.d.)  At about noon we decided to head back to the car.  We had a lunch date with our friend affectionately known as "the Napster."  We were treated to a delicious and relaxing lunch at B.L.T.'s in St. James.  "The Napster" would love to bird with us, but today was not a good day.  Maybe next time!

After lunch we moved on to our second birding locale for the day.  The East Farm Preserve, which adjoins the Avalon Preserve.  Started out following the yellow trail at the East Farm Preserve.  We meandered through the woods on this trail for about an hour.  We have come to realize that there is always a midday lull, when it comes to birds.  Perhaps they take a siesta.  We followed the yellow trail north into the adjoining Avalon Preserve.  Our book says that Great Horned Owls and their fledglings can sometimes be seen in these woods from late April to early May.  We saw some nests that looked like they could have been made by owls, but no owls.  No worries.  We kept on walking, and walking, and walking.  Finally, we thought it would be a good time to use these chairs we were still carrying!  They started out this morning weighing about 5 or 6 pounds.  Now at about 4:00 p.m., after carrying them ALL DAY, it seems like they weigh more like 15 or 20 pounds!  So we set a spell, right in the middle of the trail.  And it felt good!  At this point we weren't sure where we were or how far away the car was.  So we packed up our 25 pound chairs and moved on.  We finally came to the parking lot, only to realize that this is not the lot we parked in.  This is the lot for the Avalon Preserve.  We had to continue on the yellow trail.  Even though we were carrying 30 pound chairs, it was a beautiful walk.  The trail took us through open fields of grassland and hedgerows.  We spotted our fourth bird for our list, soaring over the treetops.  He was unmistakable in the afternoon sun, which was shining on his bright red tail.  A Red-Tailed Hawk!  As we approached the end of our trail, (or so we thought,) we lingered near a hedgerow.  By late afternoon, the bird activity picks up again.  We were rewarded with a Northern Flicker sighting.  Onward to the car.  As we crossed the road, we soon found out that the yellow trail takes us through yet another field (there are five fields in all) before we get to the parking lot.  Even though we were very tired, it was still a nice walk, despite having to carry 35 pound chairs.  We really need someone to caddy for us!  Any volunteers?  We finally arrived back at the car about three hours after we started.  Though totally exhausted, we had a great day.  Can't wait to do it again. 

Kudos to our birding friend Louie, (whom we have never met) for suggesting these wonderful birding spots to us.