Salt Marsh Nature Center--West 9/16

There must have been 500 Tree Swallows swirling above the salt marsh this morning. Of course, my photo of them looks more like bacteria on a slide--we have two cheap cameras and I use the cheapest one.

Watching a Belted Kingfisher hover over the creek reminded me of watching a hummingbird--kingfishers can't rotate their wings like hummers, but the effect is very similar. Then I thought, "Well, they are close to hummingbirds on the taxonomic tree." What an insight! Until I realized that Ospreys hover just like that too and kingfishers are pretty far away from Ospreys taxonomically.

Salt Marsh Nature Center-West

Notes:    Low Tide
Number of species:    25
Canada Goose    119
Mallard    6
Ruddy Duck    1
Pied-billed Grebe    1
Double-crested Cormorant    4
Great Egret    5
Osprey    2
Semipalmated Plover    5
American Oystercatcher    1
Greater Yellowlegs    5
Laughing Gull    6
Ring-billed Gull    25
Herring Gull    20
Great Black-backed Gull    3
Rock Pigeon    1
Mourning Dove    12
Belted Kingfisher    2
Eastern Phoebe    1
American Crow    2
Tree Swallow    500    Flying over the eastern part of the marsh.
Barn Swallow    1
American Robin    4    entrance
Gray Catbird    5
Northern Cardinal    4
Common Grackle    1