summer shots

I've been going through some folders organizing my images and came across a few that have never been posted here on the blog so I wanted to share them with all of you.  The theme (incase you didn't notice) is shorebirds.  Enjoy.

Above: Eastern Willet with what I believe to be a long-clawed hermit crab.  Below: Oystercatcher flying over Shinnecock Bay:

This Ruddy Turnstone stopped in the Hamptons for a layover during migration:

A Short-billed dowitcher appears lonely @ Cupsogue, but its friends were just out of frame.

Black Guillemot Again

I visited the end of Sebonac Inlet Rd. in Tuckahoe this morning and found the bird was still present. It spent the majority of its time under the water feeding and as such I only snapped a few photographs. I suspect once the slush, which persists in the inlet and along the western side in particular, dissipates (which hopefully will occur with the thaw/rain beginning tomorrow), that the black guillemot will come considerably closer to shore and perhaps further "inland".

Upon arrival I also saw 5 Common Goldeneye (4 drakes, 1 hen) flyover and there were several rafts of both Long-Tailed Duck and Buffel Head Ducks further offshore. Here are a few photos from my morning excursion, but unfortunately they are derived from .jpegs and as such the quality suffers a bit.



Long-Tailed Ducks