Some local guys were drinking beer and fishing on posted property on a point of land on the north side of the Neuse River. When I approached them one of them lamented, "I know! This property is posted" He was sure that I was there to tell them they would have to move on. I said, "No, I'm looking for a place to park so I can put my kayak in sometime next month." One of them asked, "Are you a southerner?"
Even though I proudly passed the 'southern' hurdle, these guys didn't have the authority to grant me the permission that I sought. Like themselves I had a good reason to be there, but I'd have to look elsewhere for the parking pass.
The purple martins having raised their young are beginning to congregate in increasing numbers underneath the Neuse River bridge near Bridgeton across the river from New Bern as they have been doing for many years. The martins will gather nightly at this spot from late July until around the middle of August. Each morning they'll take flight with their young and return to the neighborhoods where they have fledged this year's brood. They'll consume quantities of insects during the day and then near days end they'll fly again toward New Bern where they will spend the night in this huge communal roost. Some have speculated that all the birds from a hundred mile radius will commune at a roost like this. The numbers are staggering when they come swirling in like clouds just before dark. I haven't yet witnessed the spectacle of their departure, but I have heard that one morning around the middle of August they all take flight together and head toward their winter feeding grounds in South America. Some evening this August I plan to paddle my kayak near the bridge to observe the martins as they come streaming in. I'd like to get some flash photos of the birds huddled shoulder to shoulder underneath the bridge on the steel I-beams that serve to support the bridge surface.
Tonight we drove to a neighborhood as close to the bridge as we could get and I made arrangements with a homeowner who will allow me to park in her driveway and put my kayak in from her dock. I was lucky to find Ms. Mary Walker checking her mailbox this evening. Having a sure parking spot will help to make this outing come off without a hitch. Ms. Walker was aware of the congregation of martins each year and she said that the roosting has already begun.
On the way back home we stopped at the foot of the bridge to watch the martins coming in for just a few minutes . Luke was impatient and didn't let us stay too long. I'll be back. You are invited.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment