I’m still not hearing any interesting news from the local spots, so, back to Schoolhouse Pond.

It wasn’t nearly as productive, but the weather and the lighting were much better.

A singly Double Crested Cormorant flew over the pond.

The Little Blue Heron was much harder to find today.

I had better lighting for this Solitary Sandpiper today.

A single Great Blue Heron was present all morning.

There were only 4 Great Egrets present today.

With the Labor Day weekend snarling traffic and filling the parks, I decided to go back to Schoolhouse Pond, which has been so productive recently.

There were plenty of the same birds, and the light got quite decent after an hour or so, so I managed a few decent images.

This Osprey has the whole pond to himself.

Several Solitary Sandpipers were feeding in the marsh.

The Little Blue Heron seems to be hanging out for a while.

This small stump attracts many birds, including this Great Egret.

A great Egret is about 1.5 feet taller than a little Blue Heron.

The weather is “unsettled” this weekend, which can sometimes bring in good birds, so I decided to try Schoolhouse Pond for vagrants. Sandy Point would have been my first choice, but it’s Labor Day weekend and bound to be very crowded.

I made the right choice. I chatted with some fishermen for a while, and birds were continually flying in, which is always a good sign.

I noticed a distant bird I couldn’t ID, so I walked to the other end of the pond and saw it was a juvenile little Blue Heron, a bird I don’t see often. Eventually it moved much closer and gave me some good looks.

A good morning, indeed, and I may go back tomorrow.

A single Killdeer was foraging at the South end of the pond.

Several Least Sandpipers were feeding on the mudflats.

This Solitary Sandpiper was well camouflaged.

This Great Blue Heron stayed in one place all morning.

6 Great Egrets were foraging in the pond.

There’s always a small flock of Mallards in the pond.

Two large flocks of Canada Geese stopped by for a while.

A single Osprey was looking for fish.

I found this Common Yellowthroat at Wooton’s Landing.

This Chickadee was also at Wooton.

The shape of the head and the color of the beak distinguish the Little Blue Heron from the Snowy Egret.

It’s that time of year when birds are hard to find, and I’m not having much luck. I’ve been to several different places recently, and don’t have much to show for the effort.

I made the Bombay Hook trek again this morning, as a friend had good luck there a few days ago, but it was only a mediocre show. Still, it was better than any other place I’ve been recently.

This Green Heron was foraging at Schoolhouse Pond.

This Killdeer was at Schoolhouse pond.

This White Eyed Vireo was the only good image I got at Wooton’s Landing.

There were many Greater Yellowlegs in the marsh.

I only saw two Forster’s Terns.

Many Snowy Egrets were present.

This Goldfinch will be getting his Winter plumage soon.

Many Great Egrets were present as well.

I saw only a few Semi Palmated Sandpipers.

A least Sandpiper at Schoolhouse Pond.

These Least Sandpipers had a dispute of some kind.

Blue Grosbeaks can be found all Summer.

I found this Great Blue Heron at Schoolhouse Pond.

I was lucky to catch this Belted Kingfisher as he flew by.

This Killdeer was at Schoolhouse Pond.

Three Yellow Crowned Night Herons were resting in Bear Swamp Pool.

I made the trek to Blackwater in hopes of getting more action, and was only partly successful.  I managed to find a few warblers, but there wasn’t much else to see.

I spoke with fellow birder who had the same kind of luck , but we decided it was just our misfortune and we’d have to try again another day.

This Eastern Phoebe is probably a migrant.

My friendly Red Headed Woodpeckers were very cooperative today.

Eastern Kingbirds will be heading South soon.

This Common Yellowthroat may have nested at Blackwater.

This first year Osprey was fishing near his old nest.

This Pine Warbler is an early migrant.

I was looking for Nuthatches when this Yellow Warbler popped up.

My original thought was to try Wooton this morning, but the car made the turn for Schoolhouse Pond instead. I prefer going there on weekends to avoid the traffic.

It was quite dark and cloudy at first, but I could see there were a few good birds, so I waited a while. I got a few images in the poor light, but it wasn’t long before the sun came out and I got a good look at some decent birds.  I suspect I’ll be going back again soon.

I stopped at Governor Bridge on the way home, but didn’t find much.

This juvenile Chipping Sparrow was begging his parent for a treat.

Two Green Herons greeted me when I arrived.

This Acadian Flycatcher was at Governor Bridge.

These Mallards seemed to be just waking up.

A single Great Egret arrived as I was leaving.

I haven’t seen a Spotted Sandpiper since the Spring.

I found this Saddleback Caterpillar at Quiet Waters yesterday.

I don’t see Viceroy butterflies often.

Things are starting to pick up. I’ve been hanging out at  Sandy Point and Greenbury Point waiting for more birds to show, and today might have been the breakthrough.

I started at Sandy point, where I found a couple of decent shore birds, then went on to Greenbury Point.

I found plenty of activity right off the bat, including some birds I hadn’t seen there in a while. I think migration is under way!

I haven’t seen a Blue Gray Gnatcatcher at Greenbury since the Spring.

Eastern Kingbirds may be gathering to migrate.

This Downy Woodpecker was eating noisily.

It’s been weeks since I’ve found a Red Eyed Vireo.

A Great Crested Flycatcher was busily gforaging .

This Caspian Tern was at Sandy point.

I usually see Semi Palmated Plovers on the Eastern shore.

Least Sandpipers were foraging high on the beach.

This Snowy was feeding in the surf at Sandy Point.

This Willet didn’t belong at Sandy point at all, and was a rare treat.

You can find Goldfinches at Greenbury Point all year.

I seldom see Yellow Warblers at Greenbury Point.

Today’s bugs.

I stayed close to home today, and started at Sandy Point. I did see a nice Fox, but not a single bird worthy of  a photo.

Greenbury Point is only 10 minutes away, so I headed there next in hopes of finding some butterflies or early migrants.

I did see a few of the usual butterflies, and bird activity was better than usual, but I didn’t find anything really interesting.

Indigo Buntings seem to nest here every year,

Like last year, Eastern Kingbirds seem to gathering in numbers.

This Cardinal is molting.

Several Skippers were feeding near the nursery center.

I saw more Goldfinches than usual.

Several Skippers were feeding near the nursery center.

I posted the statement below i response to an “All news is fake news” post, and FB says: “This comment goes against our Community Standards on hate speech.” That is wayyyyy overboard.

What do you think?

“The news is just fine-better than ever, in fact because it’s so much easier to fact-check. I notice that you “Fake News” folks never post any verifiable such news from legitimate sources. Could it be because IT DOESN’T EXIST? Any mainstream source that published false or misleading news would be out of business in a hurry, unless it had a loyal audience of uneducated, brain-dead white trash. Third party votes are stupid. In most cases they are wasted votes.”

Back to Bombay Hook this morning because there’s still not much going on locally.

I arrived at dawn, but the sunrise wasn’t interesting, so I made a quick circuit as the sun rose. It was clear that many birds were visiting, so I went more slowly the second time around.

I didn’t find much in the way of migrating birds, but it was good to see that numbers are increasing. I also found a couple of friends who were visiting as well.

Many Caspian Terns were feeding in the marsh.

I saw at least three Eastern Kingbirds.

There were only two Black Necked Stilts.

I don’t see Bald Eagles in flight very often at Bombay Hook.

Many Great Egrets were feeding in the marsh.

Short Billed Dowitchers aren’t getting close to the camera.

I saw many Greater Yellowlegs, mostly in the distance.

Great Blue Herons were in every pool.

I found three juvenile Yellow Crowned Night Herons at Bear Swamp Pool. I’ve only seen this bird once before.