Here are some of the birds we saw there, despite the rain and cold:
A young Great Black-backed Gull, maybe first year? I'm basing this on the pics in my Sibley.
A full-grown GBBG. There were a LOT of these gulls all over New England; I didn't see many other kinds of gulls, at least not sitting still so I could ID them.In the Salt Pannes area of the park, we saw these guys:
A lot of birds in this group. I think I see a Least Sandpiper there, in front of the bird on the left. The bird with the wings in the air? We'll get to him. Next to him on the right are what I believe to be two Greater Yellowlegs. Then there's the bird in the lower right. Let's look at the next picture.
Okay--there are a few Greater Yellowlegs, but there is still the matter of the bird in the foreground and the bird who's lighter in plumage and facing to the left. Next picture:
The birds, the pale one near the middle and the one in the foreground, were the same kind of bird, but neither one wanted to show me any kind of helpful hint for the camera. I have gone over and over my Shorebird Guide and my Sibley, and the closest I can come is winter-plumaged Black-bellied Plovers. Comments, anyone?More pics of them:
Here's the best one I got:
Black-bellied Plover?
See how camera-shy he was?We also saw several Snowy Egrets:
I wish the weather had been better, and that we'd gotten there earlier in the day. Still, it was nice out there. I'd like to go back there soon.
6 comments:
I'm jealous.
Yes, those are Black-bellied Plovers.
I vote for Black-Bellied Plovers too. Very exciting trip! I'm going to Cambridge on a business trip next week but I'll be too busy with the actual business to bird. Oh well. At least I have a plan to each Afghan food, which we do not have in Utah!
Welcome to new England from a native New Englander! -Although Connecticut shouldn't even count-doens't feel new Englandy to me.Nice look at some fine shorebirds!
Dr. Monkey--you and Sparky should drive up there. It's beautiful!
John--yay!!!!!
Elizabeth--yay again! It was a lot of fun. What's Afghani food like?
Larry--I agree, CT is just kind of a border state to New England! Maine and NH/VT were total New England.
It's a lot like Indian food in that it involves meat and vegetables with heavy spices served with rice. The flavors are usually a lot more subtle, though. That being said, in Utah you can only get boring Indian food like 10 pounds of spinach boiled down to mush and added to rice with cheese so maybe I'm missing out on more authentic Indian cuisine.
Post a Comment