For the past several days, I’d been seeing e-Bird reports of snowy egrets and a little blue heron hanging around Veterans Park in Hamilton. When I woke up this morning, I figured it was high time I checked them out.
Sure enough, the little blue heron was staying close to a larger snowy egret, as shown in the photo topping this post. The birds were maybe 50 feet from the edge of the park’s lake, the water level of which seemed low. I was able to take a few steps off the hard-packed dirt trail that parallels the shore, picking my way from fallen branch to fallen branch to avoid sinking into the mud.
I only saw one snowy egret, and I could see a few great egrets fishing across the lake. Great blue herons were close by, and I watched two bald eagles cross the lake and land in a tall tree. They tucked into the leaves, not leaving me a decent photo opportunity. I also observed two belted kingfishers chasing each other over the water, a fun sight but one too fast and far off to shoot.
At one point, I heard an unusual call and turned on the Merlin app. It said it was hearing a greater yellowlegs, and a quick scan into the distance didn’t turn up anything. The bird continued calling for a minute or two, and I soon turned my attention and camera to a few spotted sandpipers stalking along the mud flats.
About the time I decided to turn back to my car, I notice a somewhat taller bird stepping along the shore. I took a few shots, thinking it was another sandpiper and didn’t think much about it. With 108 frames on my camera card, I was eager to get home and see my little blue heron and egret shots.
To my pleasant surprise, that last bird I shot turned out to be a greater yellowlegs, almost certainly the one that Merlin had heard calling previously.
All in all, it was a fine morning to catch a few birds I don’t often get to see, let alone have relatively close access for photos. The day also reminds me that Veterans Park is worthy of a place on my Hot Spots section, which I haven’t given enough attention. 🦅
The Jersey Birder 