New Egypt 1/8--Black Vulture

I took a quick drive out to New Egypt (of lapwing fame)this morning, hoping for Sandhill Cranes and perhaps some other interesting birds that have been reported out there of late, like Horned Lark or pheasants and came up completely empty, save for some Black Vultures I saw flying over the fields. I should have had these vultures in Cape May but I couldn't locate them in the kettles of Turkey Vultures we saw. I was pleased that I was able to i.d. these birds by shape and flight today. Only later did I see the diagnostic white wing patches.

The weather remained frigid today--zero when I woke up this morning. The fields were frozen, so there weren't even Killdeer picking at the ground. I wasn't that cold, scanning the fields, but I wasn't inclined to test how long it would take for me to start freezing.  Tuesday is the anniversary of our finding the lapwings and I said to Shari today that we should make a journey out there that day just to see if magic happens twice.

Meanwhile, our Pine Warbler rarities continue. They like the peanut butter, but somehow haven't figured out that they aren't hummingbirds and that it would be more efficient to actually land on the pine cone, rather than hover and pick at it. The Carolina Wrens have figured it out.

Action shot