I've made countless visits to the East Pond over many years and it would seem that I've seen it all. But I ran into two surprises today. I'm not sure that I've never seen one, and think I've heard that they were there, but the sight of a Snapping Turtle emerging along the edge of the water and, head and shell raised up high, was not something I expected. I watched to see if it would threaten any birds - and got a couple of shots with dowitchers in the background - but nothing came of that (happily). A while later, while a bit north of the Raunt, with Gail Benson and Tom Burke, we watched a Clapper Rail creep out of the phragmites. After procrastinating a bit, it eventually made a couple of forays out into the open. A picture can be seen at http://stevewalternature.com/ . Definitely a first for me on the East Pond.
As for shorebirds, there are a lot of them now. I wouldn't worry about numbers or pronouncements of "number down from whenever". The juveniles are coming and there should be birds for a while. Even at low tide - which I think gets a bad rap - there are more birds now than most high tides had to offer for much of the season so far. I just wish there would be more of a variety at the aesthetically more pleasing south end and along the wind moderated east shore. That said, those areas today did include a Pectoral Sandpiper, at least one Western, and 5 White-rumped Sandpipers. I feel like making a point on the variability of juvenile Calidiris. While some of your field guides may stress the bright rufous scapulars of Western Sandpiper, there are juvenile Semipalmated out there that are brighter than the Western(s) seen this weekend. One more note. Some Salt Marsh Fleabane is blooming now in some places. I got some nice pictures over the years of various shorebirds that liked poking around it. That was before Sandy. For now, it's worth keeping an eye on if you have an interest in butterflies. I came up with a Salt Marsh Skipper. Steve Walter Bayside, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
