Cape May Times: Blizzards of birds in Cape May in January


Ruddy Turnstone at Higbee
Photo credit: CapeMayTimes.com



It was a blizzard, but the “snowflakes” weren’t falling from the sky. Instead, they were rising up from the marsh, swirling and milling in a rough semi-circle before moving off. More than 10,000 Snow Geese had just blasted off from the salt marshes of Forsythe (formerly Brigantine) National Wildlife Refuge (near Absecon in Atlantic County). The reason for this spectacle was a single, adult Bald Eagle that had taken off from the trees a half-mile away and flew slowly toward the geese. That eagle was looking for a meal; perhaps a sick or injured goosed or even a dead one.  With more than a half-million Snow Geese in South Jersey during the winter, the pickings are generally easy.
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Posted by WILDNEWJERSEY at 1/14/2010 7:00 AM
Categories: Birds
Tags: Short-eared Owl Rough-legged Hawk snow geese peregrine Falcon Northern Harrier bald eagle Sharp-shinned Hawk Red-tailed Hawk
 

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