Since we weren’t having much luck in and around Cheshire this trip, I surprised Deb at 5 am this morning with the suggestion that we try someplace new: the Sandy Point Bird Sanctuary at the mouth of New Haven harbor. Amazingly, she was game, so off we went.
It was a bit of a drive, so the sun was well up when we arrived, but we had barely left the parking lot when Deb discovered our first surprise of the day, a yellow-crowned night heron. We’ve seen a juvenile in Estabrook again this summer, and I finally saw an adult in Belize last fall, but I believe this is the first adult I’ve seen in the US. Nice!
Right next to the heron was a snowy egret, which we last saw this spring in Dallas. Now, that’s a good start.
The tide was nice and low, so we had timed our impromptu visit just right, and the surprises got bigger as we looked farther out onto the exposed mud. Here’s my very first American oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus). Long-time readers may recall that I used to see Eurasian oystercatchers in South Holland, and I knew that we had our own version over here, but it took me a while to finally spot one. Woo hoo! The whole beak is bright orange, and the black on the tip of this one is mud from digging for breakfast.
The biggest surprise of all was this character that flew in and immediately began skulking in and out of the tall grass growing along the edge of the water. I had to look it up to discover that it is our very first Clapper rail (Rallus crepitans), which “are named for their calls: a series of loud, repeated “kek” calls.” Hot Diggity Dog! You may recall that I was only able to show you a rail for the first time just last summer, a Virginia rail at Horicon Marsh.
Finally, they weren’t all exotic, and here’s a familiar face, a pretty little green heron.
Lastly, my other sister is flying in tonight, so I’m not sure what our options will be for tomorrow morning, but I’ve kept a couple of pictures in my back pocket from this morning, and I’ll have something for you in any case.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 