Some End of Summer Photos

The heat, humidity and rain have left us, at least for a while. Now I’m looking forward to some early fall outings in New England’s best season. These are some recent photographs that I like and want to share in the meantime.

I was trying to get a decent ID photo of a Night Heron on the other side of a pond so we could determine which species we were seeing. The juveniles look almost identical at a distance and a photo would be helpful. A Northern Harrier caught my attention as it started to hunt in the marsh and field in front of me. I was quick enough to get some nice closeups!

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are tiny but the small size masks a pretty mean attitude. Many birds at my feeders will displace another bird to grab a snack. The displaced bird just moves off a bit and goes back to the feeder when the aggressor moves on. But a hummingbird will attack and chase another hummingbird until the loser has entirely left the area. I caught these two getting ready to fight it out over my feeder.

We are seeing a smattering of Green-winged and Blue-winged Teal. The males don’t have their breeding colors so the most obvious markings aren’t available. This Green-winged Teal is showing a little sliver of its green speculum to make things a little easier. Normally the large green patch is only seen when the bird is flying.