Images from the Great Swamp

These are a few more images from Saturday at the Great Swamp. I took all of these along the boardwalk trail on Long Hill Road. Regular swamp visitors may recognize some of the locations.



The images are not in chronological order. And yes, I do seem to have a liking for leaning trees.

The expected breeding birds for the Great Swamp were present, and there was little sign of migration. This meant a lot of veeries and wood thrushes, and smaller number of various flycatchers, vireos, and warblers, plus a few cedar waxwings. There was at least one pair of scarlet tanagers, both of which were gracious enough to make an appearance. The avian highlight for me was a wood thrush that seemed to lack a tail. It must have had a narrow escape at some point. The tail will grow back the next time the bird molts.

Reptiles and amphibians were very active as well, but only the gray treefrog was in a good position for me to photograph it. Other herps included bullfrog, green frog, northern water snake, and black racer. There was also a spotted turtle (pointed out by other birders); I believe that was the first time I have seen one.