Saturday, September 4, 2010

Millennium Park Mudflats


Great Blue Heron, Millennium Park, West Roxbury, MA

You'd think with so much rain overnight, the Charles would be swollen. But it appears that water level is more a matter of management than natural supply and this morning the mudflats at Millennium Park were back. Along with the peeps.

Immediately, something interesting: a small group of spotted sandpipers. I managed a long distance photo before they were chased off.

By this red-tailed hawk (after sandpipers, really?).

Adding to the curiosity, this hawk appears to be dragging something. I can't quite make out what it is. (These guys are supposed to be migrating, not nesting, this time of year). At any rate, a gang of blue jays quickly mobbed it.

I got relatively close to a solitary sandpiper on the near bank.



Medium distance was mostly populated by killdeer.


Hey! What's that in the background. That's not a least, semi-palmated, spotted, or solitary sandpiper! (Finally, my "one of these things is not like the others" activity pays off.)


I mustered several more shots, the clearest of which (you can click on the images to see them a little bigger) is unfortunately a heads-down shot. I'm going to say tentatively: pectoral sandpiper.


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