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Later

Great Blue Heron at Jonas Green Park.

Posted on August 9, 2016 by Hugh

I had to work this morning, so I planned an abbreviated day-Sandy Point and Greenbury Point. I was hoping to find some butterflies and was only partly successful. We’re still in the birding doldrums.

I made a brief stop at Jonas Green on the way home, but it was pretty dead there as well.

Sunrise at Sandy Point.

A couple of cell phone images.

These Snowy Egrets were fishing from the rocks at Sandy Point.

This Indigo Bunting is molting.

You don’t often see an Osprey photo with trees in the background.

This Great Blue Heron was unusually cooperative

Skippers at Greenbury Point.

Green Heron at Terrapin Nature Park.

Posted on August 8, 2016 by Hugh

I got started too late to catch the sunrise this morning, and went directly to Terrapin. The weather was good, cooler than usual and reasonable humidity, but there wasn’t much variety on the birding front.

I did see 19 Egrets, which is a lot, and a few Terns and Gulls. but it was otherwise ordinary. Fall migration starts soon, so things will improve.

The marsh pond.

This Great Blue Heron flew the length of the pond.

This Caspian Tern stayed at the far end of the pond.

This is a Laughing Gull.

Another successful Osprey.

The Snowy Egrets were very curious about this turtle,

I saw two Green Herons.

I’ve seen only a few Monarch Butterflies so far.

Dragonflies are still plentiful.

Glossy Ibis at Schoolhouse Pond.

Posted on August 7, 2016 by Hugh

I heard about an Ibis at Schoolhouse Pond yesterday, so Graeme and I took a chance and met there early this morning. We found them after about an hour, with the help of a fellow birder. It’s rare to find this bird so far from the coast in our area.

A few other birds cooperated, so it was quite a successful outing.

Schoolhouse Pond.

This Great Blue Heron greeted us.

These Mallards were probably all born this year.

This Red Winged Blackbird seemed to be observing us.

We saw 2-3 Spotted Sandpipers.

This Great Egret found a fishing spot and stayed there for several hours.

We saw three Ospreys fishing.

Two Glossy Ibis were foraging in the pond.

These Turtles were enjoying the sunshine.

Painted Lady at Governor Bridge Natural Area.

Posted on August 6, 2016 by Hugh

I met Graeme early at Governor Bridge, and we found an injured Great Blue Heron right away. We managed to get it back to the car, but it was early and we couldn’t locate any help, so we released it. It didn’t seem to have a serious injury, so it may have a decent chance.

Other than that, it was deadly slow, with virtually no visible birds. We spent some time looking for bugs, with limited success.

This Great Blue Heron clearly couldn’t fly, so we covered its head with my shirt, and took it back to the car park.

We kept it in this bag while we tried to find help.

Today’s flowers.

Today’s bugs.

The Painted Lady is very attractive.

Northern Watersnake at Sandy Point.

Posted on August 5, 2016 by Hugh

Another so-so sunrise at Sandy Point was redeemed by a snake, high up on the beach who seemed to be dead. I wonder if a bird tried to eat him and dropped him there?

Terrapin and CBEC were both very slow, but the exercise was good for me

Sunrise at Sandy Point.

This Snowy Egret flew right at me.

I found this egret feather at CBEC.

This Caspian Tern didn’t stay long

I think the snake threw up this eel.

This Northern Water Snake, appeared to be dead, but slithered away quickly when I approached.

I had to wait a while for this Red Admiral to open his wings.

Forster’s Tern at Terrapin Nature Park.

Posted on August 3, 2016 by Hugh

It was unusually dark at Sandy Point this morning, but I got a couple of usable shots. There were many more gulls than usual.

Terrapin was very lively, with Egrets, Herons and Terns.

CBEC had a few good birds, but most were too distant for good images.

Sunrise at Sandy Point.

This Osprey has caught a large fish.

This Great Egret was fishing very near to me.

This Green Heron landed in a dead tree about 20 feet from me.

Barn Swallows and Purple Martins appear to be staging for migration.

This Forster’s Tern was fishing in the marsh pond.

Caspian Tern at Terrapin Nature Park.

Posted on July 30, 2016 by Hugh

Sunrise at Sandy Point was good enough, but I really wanted more color.

Terrapin was sort of slow, but I got fairly close to the Terns. I didn’t have enough shutter speed for this fast little guy, but I’ll know better next time.

Sunrise at Sandy Point.

There are still a few Barn Swallows at CBEC.

Ring Billed Gulls can be very noisy.

This Snowy Egret is a photo from last year I re-edited.

I can’t tell what insect this Red Winged Blackbird has caught.

This Great Blue Heron wasn’t having much fishing luck.

It was fun to watch this Caspian Tern fishing expertly.

Green Heron at Terrapin Nature Park.

Posted on July 28, 2016 by Hugh

I got out briefly yesterday and visited Governor Bridge, which was almost barren of birds. I haven’t had a good day there this Summer.

Sandy Point was kind of dull this morning, and Terrapin wasn’t a whole lot better, but there were a few good birds.

Sunrise at Sandy Point.

Snowy Egrets are gathering in small groups.

A single Great Egret fished with the Snowys for a while.

This Green Heron landed right in front of me.

Monarchs and Swallowtails are easier to find now.

Hummingbird Clearwings tend to be abundant in the Summer.

Green Heron at Terrapin Nature Park.

Posted on July 26, 2016 by Hugh

The Sandy Point sunrise was quite good this morning. Partly cloudy days seem to be the best. I looked yesterday and the clouds went right to the horizon, with no sun to be seen at all.

Terrapin remains a bit slow, with plenty of Egrets and not much else. A distant Bald Eagle was a treat, but I didn’t see much else.