At the “Shore”

Lake Melvin @ Flag Park @ Fairview Business Park in Fairview Twp, PA is a bit muddy and swampy this time of year (+ copious goose droppings), but there are much, much less pleasant places to bird in the world. (Visiting roadside dairy effluent ponds between Tucson and Phoenix is really a thing, for migratory shorebirds; the smell in question = bacteria-generated sulphur dioxide.)

Female and baby Mallards
Killdeer in flight
Groundhog
Eastern Kingbird
Killdeer II
Killdeer III
Mallards II
Lesser Yellowlegs (r) + Semipalmated Sandpiper (l) + Least Sandpiper (middle)
The U.S. flag at Flag Park
Killdeer (r), Lesser Yellowlegs (middle), & Least (left middle) and Semipalmated Sandpipers (far left)
Eastern Kingbird in flight
Shorebirds
Eastern Kingbird III
Lesser Yellowlegs IV
Another view of mixed shorebirds
Lesser Yellowlegs VI
Killdeer IX
Lesser Yellowlegs VII
Semipalmated Sandpiper (l) + Least Sandpiper (r)
Lesser Yellowlegs XIII
Willow Flycatcher
Lesser Yellowlegs IX
Lesser Yellowlegs in flight
Lesser Yellowlegs XI
Sandpipers (l) + Lesser Yellowlegs (r)
Lesser Yellowlegs XIII

ID Notes: (i) Lesser Yellowlegs: relative lack of barring along flanks + vocal ID via Merlin; (ii) Willow Flycatcher: vocal ID via Merlin; (iii) Least Sandpiper: mottled brown coloration + yellow-green legs; & (iv) Semipalmated Sandpiper: small but larger than Least Sandpiper, dark legs, black/gray coloration.

[Editor’s note: the effluent ponds northwest of Tucson, AZ off the Interstate 10 corridor are associated with both dairies and feed lots.]

2 thoughts on “At the “Shore””

  1. Paul Edwards

    Bet you can’t wait to get back to that lovely pond!
    All great shots, of course!

    1. admin1 Post author

      The AZ effluent ponds are not for the faint of heart – only for those who really, really want to see a few extra shorebirds. Combine 110 deg F+ temps + sulfur gas = tough conditions.

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