Bluebirds at David Weld Sanctuary

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Wednesday, January 25, 2023,

This past Saturday, my friend Deb and I decided to take a hike. Women are always telling me to “take a hike”, so it was nice that she actually wanted to join me. 🙂  I had suggested Frank Melville Park in Setauket, but she wanted to visit David Weld Sanctuary in Nissequogue. It seems that she had never been there before.

David Weld used to be one of my regular stomping grounds, but I hadn’t been there in a couple of years. I had fallen out of the habit of visiting there, so I was glad for the suggestion.

The day was cold and gloomy, and there were very few birds to be seen. We took the main path out to the Sound. We took a side path on our return trip. Just as we were coming towards the main trail, I saw some movement in the trees up ahead. Flashes of blue. At this point, even a Blue Jay would have been welcome. However, these birds were too small to be Blue Jays. So, I pulled my tripod, with the camera attached, off my shoulder, and shot off a few pics. This photo, directly above, was my first true glimpse of the smallish birds ahead of us. While it had its back to me, I knew that I was looking at a Bluebird.

And, while these birds are the New York State Bird, they are not so easy to find, let alone photograph. This was a serious treat, for more than just the obvious reasons, because we saw a whole flock of them. I have never seen more than two Bluebirds at a time. On Saturday, we saw at least six of these beauties, perhaps more.

JK

A Juvenile Snowy Egret in Oceanside

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Sunday, November 6, 2022,

This is a juvenile Snowy Egret that I manged to get photos of as it was plying, or learning its, trade at the Marine Nature Study Area in Oceanside. Actually, it was probably a bit of both. If you’re new here, click on the pics to see the full versions.

One of the ways I can identify this beautiful Snowy Egret as a juvenile is by its legs. Adult Snowy’s have all black legs and bright yellow feet. The juveniles have yellowish-green legs. My own tongue-in-cheek theory is that the yellow in their legs drains down into the feet as the birds age. Yeah, I know t’s wrong, but it is fun to think of it that way.  🙂  JK

Eastern Water Ostrich

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Saturday, October 29, 2022,

Hello folks. I have a real treat for you today. This is a pair of pics of the rarely seen, and much less photographed, Eastern Water Ostrich. Or maybe, it’s just a Greater Yellowlegs probing for fish. While I can sometimes manage to get a bird in focus, I’m not very good at making proper identifications. Plus, I’m a bit of a wiseguy.   🙂

JK

A Merlin in Oceanside

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Tuesday, October 25, 2022,

This is a Merlin I chanced to see at the Marine Nature Study Area in Oceanside. It’s not one of my better photos, but I don’t run into all that many Merlins, outside of my work at Sweetbriar Nature Center. At Sweetbriar, I get to see some of them up close, but seeing a bird in captivity is not the same as seeing the same bird out in the wild.All animals are much more magnificent in the wild. JK.