A Brewing Kettle!

I was down at the beach on November 4th in the morning, sunny with 

strong winds out of the Northeast. 

I saw the kettle brewing. 

It was spectacular with over 50 birds, mostly Turkey Vultures, circling in a thermal 

over the dunes of the Point. 

Perhaps, they were gathering in preparation for migration.

It lasted for over 20 minutes, dynamically changing in shape and size with a variety of bird species. It grabbed the attention of many raptors in the area, who joined in, including several juvenile Red-tailed hawks with their dark shoulder bars, and Northern Harriers.

At the end of the gathering, the Turkey Vultures left, leaving only the hawks, soaring and circling right over my head on Ocean Avenue.

The Bittern that wasn't!

On the elevated nature paths on the yellow trail, left of the hawk observation deck at Cape May Point State Park, I spotted an American Bittern, so I thought, ruffled and quiet. It was located down left of the bridge in the canal that proceeds on to Lighthouse Pond East and looked a bit pensive. 

After getting some shots, I changed lenses, and aimed high to catch a juvenile Northern Harrier soaring by, with its dark head and "cinnamon-orange" body (Hawks in Flight by Dunne, Sibley, Sutton, p. 182). In each shot, it looks like its eyes are closed? 

I then trained my lens back to the Bittern and so glad I did. 

It had sprung to life and was hunting and then . . 

was attacking something in the water! 

After dunking it many times, I could make out that it was a hapless frog.

It then gulped it down and here, a leg is the last bit to be seen.

I hurried home and downloaded these pictures. I checked my Sibley Guide to Birds to be certain of my ID that I felt confident about and I found that actually this was not an American Bittern at all!! 

The coloration is similar, but no bold stripes or long neck!

I flipped a few pages over and there it was. 

It was a Juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron. 

Sibley's helpful progression was invaluable for the identification - the orange eye, the sharp yellowish bill, the large white spots on the wings, etc. 

I was astonished of how much this bird changes from a juvenile to an adult.