Photo of the Week: Little Blue Heron

A small white heron with green lores, green legs, and black-tipped bicolored bill stands upright after slowly making its way along the marsh shoreline. Green vegetation in the background, clear water in the foreground shows the reflection of the white bird.

A smaller heron, the immature Little Blue Heron I saw this weekend at a southwestern Lake Erie marsh was slowly foraging the wetlands in the furthest corner from where I parked.

I’ve put off hiking the trail around the marsh this summer, there’s no shade or wooded area around the wetland.

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Photo of the Week: Black-bellied Plover at Howard Marsh

black and white shorebird grazes on the grass

The black and white shorebird with long legs, short neck, and round head calmly grazed in the grass next to the parking lot, oblivious to the delighted birders who looked on from a distance through their binoculars and spotting scope. A Black-bellied Plover isn’t a rare occurrence at Howard Marsh Metropark on the southwestern shore… Continue reading Photo of the Week: Black-bellied Plover at Howard Marsh

Photo of the Week: Black-necked Stilt at Howard Marsh

Black-necked Stilt wading amongst grasses in the blue marsh waters

One of the most distinctive shorebirds, I found the Black-necked Stilt lazily wading along the flats of Howard Marsh, a newly created coastal wetland on Lake Erie’s southern shore, near Bono, Ohio. A graceful bird with the most remarkable looking pink spindly legs, the Black-necked Stilt has a glossy black back, slender black bill, and… Continue reading Photo of the Week: Black-necked Stilt at Howard Marsh