Tails of Birding: Greater Yellowlegs

Tuesday, August 09, 2016

Plum Island Highlights

From our morning on Plum Island, my favorite photo is this Common Tern carrying food ...

Common Tern

In the most interesting category is this Ring-billed Gull. Dark wing-tips on primary feathers strengthen the feathers where the stress from flying is greatest. Note how the ends of the primaries (particularly on the left wing) are curled up ...

Ring-billed Gull

And finally, three additional "keeper" photos ...

Greater Yellowlegs

Piping Plover

Least Sandpiper

Saturday, November 09, 2013

Heinz National Wildlife Refuge

This week I made my first Fall visit to John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum. Nearly every visit to this small refuge evokes in me a mental disconnect. It is in the City of Philadelphia. I have been in Center City on occasions when the only bird life to be seen was the House Sparrow. Even pigeons were absent.

By contrast, Heinz refuge is a haven for scores of species - living, breeding, migrating. This is waterfowl season, and there were large flocks of dabblers and divers feeding on the impoundment ... until something puts them into the air, like the resident eagle passing overhead ...

Northern Shovelers and Green-winged Teal at Heinz Refuge

When we "zoom out" on the flocks in the above photo, we get a feel for the number of waterfowl present, and the "disconnected context" of the refuge. In the not too distant background are the garages, terminals, control tower, and hotel of the Philadelphia International Airport ...

The trail around the impoundment borders the far end of the water visible in the above photo and within a few yards of freight rail lines and commuter lines ...

Turning around from the above sights, I have had my best sightings anywhere of Rusty Blackbirds, and along the same trail have had great photo ops for Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Brown Creeper, Northern Saw-whet Owl, and others.

This week it was Greater Yellowlegs that was close at hand. I have had numerous good photos op for this shorebird, but not recently. Seize the opportunity ...