Another Stroll Thru Wanamassa

For some weeks, I've been hearing and seeing mockingbirds without having the chance to get any pictures. This changed this afternoon when first I saw this bird at the end of the street. I was lucky to get this one in flight.



Two blocks later, I spotted this second bird and was lucky enough to get a good picture of it in a tree. Most of the time, I see this particular bird on a wire or telegraph pole.



Right across the street from this mocker I spotted this song sparrow. It turned its back so you can see the spot of dark plumage on its chest that is the definitive identification mark. But this is yet another sparrow that will let you closer than will a house sparrow.



I made my way to the "duck pond" and lo, there was another bird I've been failing to capture, a catbird. First it hopped across the ground and then on to a low branch.





I decided to hang around at the duck pond in the hope of getting a picture of a kingfisher. This has become something of an obsession because I've only had about three really good sightings of one over the past nine years and no pictures at all. I positioned myself so I'd get a good angle should it perch in the place where I last saw it. My vigil was interrupted by the arrival of a male northern cardinal. This is another bird that is usually hard to capture. They are usually too high up and the branches of the tree interfere with focusing. But today, I got lucky!



The next interruption came from a pair of grackles who appeared to be collecting material for a nest from a mudbank a few feet from where I was standing.





Then I noticed that my friend the solitary sandpiper was also there. Over an extended period, I was able to get a number of good shots of it. It wasn't interested in building a nest: it was feeding.









I finally gave up on the kingfisher and made my way over to the bridge on Sunset. On the way, I caught sight of a great blue heron on a log. The sun was shining on it so brightly that my pictures are all somewhat washed out so I won't post them. I again visited the tree at Wanamassa Point that is said host a nest of black crowned night herons. This time, I did see one of the birds, but it was so hidden by branches that a picture was impossible. As usual, the cormorants were all lined up on the Asbury Park side of the bridge:



On my way back from the bridge, I again walked along North Wanamassa Drive hoping to see warblers but all I saw was the same wren I saw yesterday. I got a better picture though:



When I first saw the great blue, I had tried to get closer to it by walking along the north side of the lake but I scared it off. I saw that it had flown towards what I call the duck pond. Having captured the image of the wren, I set off back to that area and I was surprised to see an egret also flying in that direction. But it stopped in a tree and then flew back towards the ocean before I could get a picture. The great blue though was exactly where I expected it to be and I got this shot--sorry about the busy background:



When I did get back to the duck pond there was even a duck there! Back in the day, the place was crawling with ducks but now there aren't so many.



To close out my afternoon, I got this image of a couple of goslings swimming with their parents at front and back--but who wants to look at Canada Geese once they get past the cute stage?