I split the photos from last week into two groups to keep the posts from getting really long. My last post focused on the woods and fields. Let’s go back to the water.
I mentioned in my previous post that we had a long stretch of rainy, stormy weather. We spoke with a state biologist when we were out after the storms and, unfortunately, there were a dozen or more Least Tern nesting sites lost. But there were many signs that the Terns were starting over. This is a Least Tern bringing in his catch. It was possibly for a nesting female or to use as part of his mating ritual. These birds have been dealing with the weather for a very long time and hopefully they will continue to do so in the face of rising sea levels.
Semipalmated Sandpipers foraged along the shore on the Plum Island Sound.
And we spotted a Black-bellied Plover on the beach as well. Plus another further inland.
Ducks are less conspicuous and more spread out during breeding season. The females tend to stay on the nest but the males swim close by. Here are a Green-winged Teal (top) and a Gadwall.
These are a Greater Yellowlegs (top) and a Willet. The Willet is pretty drab on the ground but flashes those bright wing patterns in flight.
Snowy Egrets have wispy feathers during breeding season. Those wispy feathers were highly prized for ladies hats and they were almost hunted to extinction in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It wasn’t until the Migratory Bird Treaty in 1920 that they were finally saved so we can see them today.
The challenge for photographers and birds alike in the coming week will be the heat. Birds and humans will all be out early and hiding by noon!
Birds in My Viewfinder 
Nice post…I like the way you split this off from the last one too…sort of keep things balanced I think!
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