Quiet Times

Bird activity has slowed quite a bit but there are still photo ops every time I go out with my gear. These are some recent sightings.

There are some sea ducks beginning to appear off the coast but the real duck action has been on the ponds. This is a male Mallard that is still in non-breeding plumage. A female is napping in the foreground.

There are a lot of Green-winged Teals at the Bill Forward Pool on Plum Island. I watched as they would alternate between foraging in the grassy area at the edge of the pool and going back into the pool to do some dabbling. This is our smallest dabbling duck. They have a colorful speculum that includes the green that gives them their name. It really stands out in this flight shot.

Somebody yelled “Everyone into the pool!”

Great Blue Herons look pretty primitive as they fly but they can be really beautiful at times.

This one landed and started a quiet hunt from cover on the edge of the pond.

I have been out to several spots recently where it wasn’t unusual to see less than a dozen birds in the span of a couple of hours. But I always seem to get at least one photo.