Yesterday, Jeannette and I spent the morning in Scarborough Marsh. A chilly north wind made for a cold start to our day, but the bright March sun quickly got things pleasantly warmed up. Canada Geese have increased significantly, and our total of 31 Hooded Mergansers was quite good. We also had 6 Killdeer, and increase in Song Sparrows, Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles. We also encountered some new arrivals – our personal “first of years – in a pair of American Wigeon and a pair of Gadwall behind the Pelreco building, and a pair of Wood Ducks across the street in Jones Creek. A few Horned Larks were on the move overhead, as well, including at least 6 over Eastern Road. The highlight for us, however, was the light-morph Rough-legged Hawk behind Pelreco – my first since November. At least there’s one Rough-leg south of Bradbury Mountain for Dane to still tally!

Speaking of The Brad, yesterday was our first good day. 62 raptors of 5 species, including 2 Red-shouldered Hawks and 13 Bald Eagles! The day started off rather slow, with those aforementioned northerly winds. However, by the time Jeannette and I went up at about 2:00, the winds had died down a bit, a thin layer of clouds had moved in (providing a better backdrop for seeing birds), and the upper-level winds had shifted to a more southerly direction, as this next storm approached. 13 birds were tallied as of 2:00, with the other 49 coming in the next 2 ½ hours.

Today, however, not so good. We thought there was a chance to open the count for a short time this morning, but then the snow began to fall. Although there were breaks in the light snow early this morning, poor visibility and moderate easterly winds precluded a count from being conducted today. But, at least the snow has not been sticking – at least here in Yarmouth. And, hopefully, the storm will clear out early enough to open the count on time tomorrow.

Meanwhile, this morning, I took a spin at Hedgehog Mountain Park as the snow began to fall. Not a whole lot, but I did encounter two pairs of Brown Creepers, plus I heard one singing, which is always nice to hear.

And, for the record, once again, the Rutgers Women’s Basketball team got completely shafted in their tournament seeding once again. They received a #2 seed – which they deserved – but they were placed in the overall #1 seed’s bracket (essentially calling them the 8th best team, despite being ranked 7th). The problem was that the #1 seed is conference rival UConn. First of all, UConn – as much as I despise them an their coach – is in fact the number one seed, and should not have to play a conference rival, who, by the way, is the only team that beat them this year! It’s not fair for UConn, and in theory, the top teams in the same conference should not play each other until at least the final four. But, then again, we’re not in Tennessee’s bracket, so it’s not that bad – until you notice that the #7 seed is Iowa State. Assuming RU and Iowa State win their first round games, they would play each other IN FRIGGIN IOWA! A (near) home game for a #7 seed against a #2? That’s friggin’ ridiculous, but, this isn’t the first time this has happened to RU. It’s a joke, and the Women’s Selection Committee is a complete joke. OK, I’m done . . . back to filling out my Men’s tourney bracket . . .