More Bird Watching

My records showed that S was overdue for a canoe trip.
I returned with her to the Menunketusuck River, the bird life that I saw yesterday making it an easy decision. It is a humid and cloudy day, but a moderate wind makes it comfortable for a canoe trip.

We set out from the usual spot and right away in the first bend, we spot 7 Glossy Ibises up close. I nudge the bow up against the bank and S spend some quality time with the binoculars looking at the details. Then we continue on down. We find a half dozen Yellow Legs and some Willets here and there.

We expected to have some company as there were 4 cars at the launch, but we see no one else. The birds are more dispersed than they were yesterday, and Egrets are definitely outnumbering the Little Blue Herons. But, there are also more Glossy Ibises today. We head down and through the railroad bridge as the current is almost slack. The railroad bridge can be a one-way trip if the tidal current is running full speed. Below the bridge we find quite a few Egrets, both Greats and Snowys - perhaps 15 birds total. Some are in the spartina and some are in the clump of trees in the middle of the expanse. Then, we head back up into the main marsh.

We head up the east side channel. There we find a possible reason for the dispersed birds as a large immature Bald Eagle comes in. Then, we spot a mature Bald Eagle. The immature is pestering it, calling out continually, following and perching nearby. I'm not sure what is going on with that behavior. We head up and back out, and other than the Eagles, there is just a pair of Snowys and a Great Egret. 

As we head back out, I spot several dark birds not too far into the west channel, so we divert for a closer look. It turns out to be four Little Blue Herons - one white, two adults in blue plumage and a second year in the patchy piebald colors. They have a single Glossy Ibis with them. Then, we continue out, passing one more grouping of ten white birds, which looks to be about half Snowys and half Little Blues.