The birds below are waders. They like to wander along in an inch or two of water looking for food. If you are near shallow water or wetlands you have a good chance of seeing any of these guys.
On the left is a snowy egret at Elm Lake, the lake in the previous photo post. I waited and waited for it to move – stand, grab for a tasty, fly off, anything – but it just sat there. Oh well, it is a nice profile. We'll see snowy egrets in their breeding plumage this coming April at the birding festival.
The black and white bird in the middle is a black-necked stilt. This is an elegant bird that looks delicate but is pretty tough; in fact its range and numbers are increasing. Stilts have the longest legs in proportion to their bodies of any bird except the flamingo.
On the far right are two common gallinules that seem to be getting friendly in the spirit of the coming spring. Often called moorhens, these birds have incredibly long toes to allow them to walk over mud or atop floating vegetation. You can also see the bright red bill which extends up to become a forehead shield.
Now we are off to see whooping cranes, one of the rarest birds in North America.
Remember to click on the pictures to see them full sized.
On the left is a snowy egret at Elm Lake, the lake in the previous photo post. I waited and waited for it to move – stand, grab for a tasty, fly off, anything – but it just sat there. Oh well, it is a nice profile. We'll see snowy egrets in their breeding plumage this coming April at the birding festival.
The black and white bird in the middle is a black-necked stilt. This is an elegant bird that looks delicate but is pretty tough; in fact its range and numbers are increasing. Stilts have the longest legs in proportion to their bodies of any bird except the flamingo.
On the far right are two common gallinules that seem to be getting friendly in the spirit of the coming spring. Often called moorhens, these birds have incredibly long toes to allow them to walk over mud or atop floating vegetation. You can also see the bright red bill which extends up to become a forehead shield.
Now we are off to see whooping cranes, one of the rarest birds in North America.
Remember to click on the pictures to see them full sized.
