eastern kingbirds, dark eyed junco, egret roost, penguin

First of Year Eastern Kingbird

I hung out at the refuge for several hours yesterday afternoon/evening. I wasn't really birding, just sort of being there. Eastern kingbirds were all over the place. It seemed like there was at least one every 100 yards along the unpaved part of the road.

My most unusual sighting of the day was a dark-eyed junco hanging around parking lot 5. It was very friendly. I walked up the boardwalk to the platform overlooking the ocean and sat there for hours watching long-tailed ducks, black scoters, surf scoters, and a common loon diving. The junco was at the bottom of the boardwalk when I went back to the car. Again it was remarkably unafraid of me. Why hasn't it migrated with the rest of its kind?

At the Salt Pannes

Also ubiquitous and very loud were the greater yellowlegs. Several greater and two lesser yellowlegs were very active around the salt pannes. All were constantly calling; they even drowned out the sound of the few willets.

I passed the Salisbury egret roost on the way home and caught glimpses of 24 great egrets and 2 snowy egrets through the Phragmites, which were at least a foot taller than I am, I've heard there's a way to access the spot without trespassing on the carnival ride storage place, but I've never gotten the exact location of said spot. So, lacking 7 -league boots, I took the best shot I could from the road with my hand held camera.

A Glimpse of Great Egrets through the Phragmites.

Gratuitous Penguin (on one of the carnival rides)