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| Little Blue Heron, Hadley, MA, Aug 12, 2014 |
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| Little Blue Heron, Hadley, MA, Aug 12, 2014 |
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| Little Blue Heron, Hadley, MA, Aug 12, 2014 |
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| Little Blue Heron(with Mallard), Hadley, MA, Aug 12, 2014 |
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| Little Blue Heron, Hadley, MA, Aug 12, 2014 |
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| Little Blue Heron and Great Egret, Hadley, MA, Aug 12, 2014 |
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| Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 12, 2014 |
I headed out early before work and made a brief stop at
Winsor Dam before heading over to check some areas along the Connecticut River
in Hadley. Once I arrived there one of
the first birds I saw was a small white egret/heron. I got the scope on the bird and it turned out
to be an immature Little Blue Heron! A
truly unusual species here in western Massachusetts and only the second one I
have ever seen in the area (an adult in spring at Arcadia a few years ago is my
only other record). The Little Blue Heron
provided me with #217 for the year
in Hampshire County. I was pressed for
time but managed to get quite a few digiscoped photos with my iPhone before I
had to leave the bird and head to work.
Also present with the heron was a Great Egret, a couple Spotted
Sandpipers, four Least Sandpipers and a dozen or so each of Wood Ducks and
Mallards. Finally a payoff after so many stops looking for unusual herons/egrets...persistence can work!
Video of Little Blue Heron at link below:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/14878249116/in/photostream/
Elsewhere today I also had my first of season Osprey fly
over me while I was driving through Florence.
Potential noteworthy is an upcoming rain event forecast to
begin tonight and last through the day tomorrow bringing potentially several
inches of rain to the area. Will the
heavy rain ground some migrants such as shorebirds or perhaps a Black
Tern? Who knows…I know I will be out
looking and keeping my fingers crossed. If nothing else the rain may create some muddy
fields that could attract some shorebirds but unfortunately there are not many
fields around that don’t currently contain crops....the same event in a few more weeks would be even better.
You got a good one there, Larry. I fully expect that you will turn up that Black Tern one of these storms! (Posted by Ed Kittredge)
ReplyDeleteI hope you are right Ed!
ReplyDelete