Wednesday, July 18, 2012

a scruffy Night-Heron and a visit to the other side of the bay

This morning's walk, late and abbreviated, hit the day's heat and humidity and a fairly healthy high tide as well. In spite of all this, there an adult Yellow-crowned Night-Heron standing on the rubble of some phragmites that had recently been cut down and it was accompanied by a young, scruffy bird of the same persuasion. This latter was almost certainly a bird of the year, a true juvenile (the yearling birds, which keep the brown look, are generally in a much neater plumage). This morning's youngster was born and raised somewhere in the neighborhood and paid us a visit accompanied by one of his/her parents. Some day I'm going to locate the nest.

I just spend an hour on the bayside of Tiana Beach while my granddaughter Juliette had a swimming lesson at the Town facility there. There was a constant stream of swallows (mostly Barn but several Rough-wings as well) and peeps (mostly Least but I did see one Semipalmated). These birds gave every indication of moving along the beach, always in a northeast-to-southwest direction. If that ain't migration, I don't know what is.

Other birds included a single Killdeer, two Glossy Ibis, a number of calling yellowlegs (including at least a couple of Lessers) and two beefy jumbo-sized shorebirds flying over the distant salt marsh and showing no white in flight -- Whimbrels for sure.

Eric Salzman

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