Siblings

Picture perfect day, sunny and quiet...a good time to take the kids for a stroll.

As with all siblings, quiet never seems to be something that is meant to last.... Ouch, that hurt!!!

and when we look up to see what has happened... we know we have to be patient and practice the rule of always listening to both sides!but we are wise and know when to ignore, knowing it's just part of learning to get along, as we hear those little whispers in the background ...yes you did!... no, I didn't...ah huh..nuh ah..

GREATER, LESSER, COMMON, UNCOMMON???

There were a lot of people standing on the bridge that crosses the creek. Morning visitors. They all seem to be enjoying the topic of discussion at hand. A few were doing the talking, most, like me, were listening. "It's a Yellowlegs," says one, "but is it the Greater or the Lesser?" Well, I don't think I've ever seen a Yellowlegs before and if I did I didn't know what it was called. I don't believe there was a final consensus, just a lot of opinions and after having looked at my books and pictures online, my inexperienced opinion is that it is a Yellowlegs and it is the Greater. It looked to me to be about 14 inches in length, the Lesser I believe is suppose to be about 10 inches. I think I can also see that the bill is a little upturned. They say that the Greater's legs can be a yellowish orange but the legs of the Lesser are yellow and rarely orange. Well, I'm still not 100% sure though, so if you can help me out, that would be nice!
I wasn't able to get close to him, you know, to get that, one, really nice close up! I do have to say, though, that I loved watching him forage for food with those long toes and long bill. The markings on his wings and back were quite striking! He seemed very confident, as he waded through a large flock of Canadian geese and Mallards.
He certainly kept very busy with getting lunch....
and after lunch there was a fast wade with a friend...actually I put in this picture of the Killdeer thinking it was a good comparison for size.
...and then as we all know, after exercise one needs a good stretch...a one-leg wing stretch!
Such a cute face, but oh so hard to find in all those colors as he walked the shoreline. He was so well camouflaged that I had to use my binoculars a few times to locate him because he had stopped moving!!
Now for the Common (Wilson?) Snipe?? When I came upon this little guy, I was wishing for that small group of people that I had seen in the morning because I had heard or read (can't remember which one) that it was quite uncommon to see a Common Snipe in S.E. Pa. at this time of the year?? As you can see the sun was out in full force and the fall colors fell onto the water making it a little difficult for my camera to get around that glare and produce a more detailed photo.

It was a little better once he moved back into the shade. I have to say it was a lot of fun for me to find two birds that I am not very familiar with and I hope if you have information about them you can share, that you will!

THE BLUES OF FALL

Once again the colors of Fall have descended upon us with those bright reds, brilliant yellows, chartreuse greens, siennas and russet browns. It was the perfect day for zipped up jackets, smart wool socks and a destination. With binoculars and cameras in hand we (hubby and I) walked a field path leading towards a small lake in southern New Jersey. Commenting on the abundance of colorful berries we were unaware of the real treat that was soon to greet us. The Blues of Fall. A flock of Bluebirds, happily feasting upon the berries of a Virginia creeper vine which had woven its way up and around a small hichory tree. What a nice surprise to see these little birds! Having had the pleasure of two bluebirds nesting in our backyard, this past spring, we were accustomed to only seeing a few at a time. I have to say we both were elated to see a flock of blues. They were so busy, flitting from branch to branch, gobbling berries that our presence seemed to be overlooked.

Such vibrant blues. No matter how many times you see a Bluebird fly, it's that striking flash of blue, that always leaves a WOW impression in your mind's eye!
As we approached the lake we were greeted by another Great Blue, the Heron. He was perched high in a tree overlooking the lake. Prehistoric looking but calm in his demeanor. A distinct difference to the behavior of the flock of blue birds, we had just left. He seemed contented to stay where he was and allowed me to take several perched pictures before he stood up.
Maybe he felt he needed a change to his pose...or to impress me with how unbelievably long that wing can extend!!
After showing off that wing he remained only a few seconds more. He slowly tipped to one side, gave a little push, did a little free fall and glided away! Cool! We continued our walk around the lake and as we headed back to the car we both agreed that of all the fall colors we saw today blue was definitely our favorite.