Spurwink Marsh
“Many of my most memorable bird sightings in Cape have taken place along the old stretch of Sawyer Road that crosses the Spurwink Marsh.”
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In his words
Ten of the 22 passages, oldest first.
Despite the shorebird migration having already peaked across our parts, plovers and sandpipers were still quite common across the Spurwink Marsh and places like Kettle Cove, Dyer and Trundy Points.
In the second week of October along the Spurwink Marsh I recorded seeing a Belted Kingfisher, a first of season Northern Harrier, a single Lesser Yellowlegs, eight Great Egrets, two Great Blue Herons and one Snowy Egret.
On April 1 along the Sawyer Road section of the Spurwink Marsh I noted my first Great Egret of the season.
Over the last several weeks I also was able to view four different types of swallows along the portion of Sawyer Road that crosses through the Spurwink Marsh - Barn, Tree, Northern-rough Winged and Bank Swallows.
Other mentionables from the field include on September 6 Spurwink Marsh along Sawyer Road - while watching a Northern Harrier weave back and forth across the salt marshes I heard the shrill scream of a Red-shouldered Hawk calling aways off in a stand off old pines beyond the Pannes.
Lastly, on the afternoon of 9/25 along Spurwink Marsh section of Sawyer Road, my son brought to my attention “two black birds” out on the salt pannes.
On January 13 I observed two lingering male Belted Kingfishers, one at the Spurwink River Crossing perched on a high snag and a second one along the portion of Sawyer Road that traverses the Spurwink Marsh.
As the snow fell the following day along the Sawyer Road section of the Spurwink Marsh I came across a lone Greater Scaup hunkered down in a shallow salt-water pond.
Additionally, on March 17 along the section of the Sawyer Road that crosses the Spurwink Marsh I spotted three Hooded Mergansers and a single Common Merganser feeding in a shallow salt-water pool.
On April 7 along the Spurwink Marsh I was admiring a large flock of foraging Glossy Ibis when I noticed one of the birds did not have a long, curved bill.
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Later on in the day along Sawyer Road and the Spurwink Marsh I spotted my first of the year Hooded Mergansers.
Later in the afternoon of April 28 while watching a Merlin cruising at top speed across the Spurwink Marsh, a white heron-like bird appeared in my binocs as it sailed into the saltmarsh.
Late in the afternoon Least Terns darting and diving over Spurwink Marsh.
And on July 2, my son and I came across an adult Willet with three fledglings crossing the Sawyer Road section of the Spurwink Marsh as dozens of Barn Swallows darted and dove above us.
And on September 8 along the Spurwink Marsh section of Sawyer Road I noted a single Belted Kingfisher, five Snowy Egrets, four Great Egrets and one Great Blue Heron.
On a particularly cold mid-February afternoon along the Sawyer Road section of the Spurwink Marsh I was watching what was likely a family group of three Red-tailed Hawks chasing each other along the tree line when my eyes pivoted to two large objects out on the marsh.
Additionally, the presence of Wilson’s Snipes serves as a reliable indicator of wetland vitality— habitats like the Spurwink Marsh are among the richest and most diverse on the planet.
Later that same day my wife and I spotted a single Bobolink along the fringes of the Spurwink Marsh.
Spurwink Marsh serves as a critical stopover point for these long distance migrants, offering sanctuary for rest and renewal.
Many of my most memorable bird sightings in Cape have taken place along the old stretch of Sawyer Road that crosses the Spurwink Marsh.
Spurwink Marsh serves as a critical stopover point for this long distance migrants, offering sanctuary for rest and renewal.
Their presence is a reliable indicator of wetland vitality; habitats like Spurwink Marsh are among the richest ecosystems on the planet, and protecting them is essential to sustaining biodiversity.