Winter Snipe

This afternoon after leaving a Dr. appointment I headed to Dune Rd. in hopes of utilizing the fresh snow.  Not spotting any Bitterns I was ready to leave when a Wilson's Snipe flew into a little watering hole (the same location I photographed the previous Wilson's Snipe).  I would have preferred it to have been a little closer or had a better angle but was pleased to get it with the snow and ice.

 Trying a new spot:

 Moving around:

Great Blue Heron's beautiful birds and can be quite elegant - but they are so ubiquitous (as heron's go) that they have been photographed to death and I almost always pass on photographing them (especially because their prey around here consist almost exclusively of small fish which doesn't make for a terribly interesting photo).  But, when the conditions are right like this afternoon, I'll happily shoot away!  

Searching for a fish:

In hot pursuit:

This is just a throw-in shot obviously a massive crop.  I saw this Peregrine blazing from West to East until it perched on this pole.  Another Peregrine was in the immediate area and continued East with this bird following.

More SoFo

I visited the fields behind SoFo this morning and while there were no raptors (other than a distant Red-Tailed Hawk) and no songbirds, I found 5 Solitary Sandpipers in addition to a Lesser Yellowlegs, a Great Blue Heron and more than a dozen Blue-winged teal.

A Blue-winged teal came for a visit while I was photographing the smaller shorebirds and a mallard flew by:

 Resting:

A Great Blue Heron felt I was a little too close for comfort as I came around the bend:

 And a Lesser Yellowlegs could be found amongst the Solitary Sandpipers: