{"id":5347,"date":"2016-10-05T17:33:41","date_gmt":"2016-10-05T21:33:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/?p=5347"},"modified":"2016-10-18T08:21:49","modified_gmt":"2016-10-18T12:21:49","slug":"greater-yellowlegs-lands-rattray-marsh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/naturalcrooks.com\/rambles\/greater-yellowlegs-lands-rattray-marsh\/","title":{"rendered":"A Greater Yellowlegs Lands In the Rattray Marsh"},"content":{"rendered":"

This first week in October has offered some quite warm, though cloudy days. Despite my suspicions that the skies might open at any minute, I took a chance and visited the Rattray Marsh in Mississauga. There has been a large mud flat at the mouth of the lagoon which I wanted to check for passing sandpipers and Rusty Blackbirds<\/strong><\/a>, both of which I\u2019ve seen in that area on other early autumn days.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

Look Who Just Flew Into View<\/h2>\n

There wasn\u2019t much unusual to see when I first reached the outlet of the lagoon where it empties into Lake Ontario. So I settled down and waited a while. A Yellow-Rumped Warbler flew by. I noticed a Great Blue Heron was slowly stalking through the waters on the far side of the \u201ckeep out the carp\u201d fence. A trio of Hooded Mergansers<\/strong><\/a> were feeding rather frenziedly on something they had found on the other side of that fence\u2014and they were following it, swimming heads immersed up into the lagoon.<\/p>\n

Then with a series of interesting call notes, a large bird flew in and landed on the mud flat quite close to where I was watching. It was a Yellowlegs.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

Is This a Greater or a Lesser Yellowlegs?<\/h2>\n

The bright yellow legs and overall shape and colour make it fairly easy to decide the bird is one of the two types of Yellowlegs. But which type?<\/p>\n

The size of the bird, especially compared to a nearby Killdeer, was quite obvious. The bill was also noticeably long. It\u2019s harder to see that in my photos\u2014they were taken with a 600 mm zoom lens which tends to shorten the appearance of the beak. A few leftover dots on the bird\u2019s flanks behind the legs are inconclusive but suggest it\u2019s a Greater Yellowlegs. The combination of all of those features leads me to risk saying it was a Greater Yellowlegs. (It was reassuring to see on eBird that other birders had also reported a Greater Yellowlegs from the marsh that day.)<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

A Lesser Yellowlegs is close to the size of a Killdeer, has a shorter bill, and in breeding plumage often doesn\u2019t have dark bars or dots behind the legs near the tail. Lesser Yellowlegs are often seen at the Rattray on migration, too.<\/p>\n

This Yellowlegs moved quickly, hunting along the edge of the mudflat till it reached the western carp fence, which it winged over, then kept walking further away.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>
\nYellowlegs seem to look for food not just probe around in the mud.<\/em><\/p>\n

I was pleased to see this bird. Once it was out of sight, though, I also watched two Kingfishers calling and flying around the lagoon. Several small groups of Mallards came and went. A Turkey Vulture soared over head. And the small family of Mute Swans (one parent and 2 greyer young) appeared then drifted back into the hidden waters. And two Monarchs sailed past, flying parallel to the Lake.<\/p>\n

Perhaps best of all, the showers held off till I finished my explorations. I hope the weather cooperates the next time I go out\u2014and another co operative bird would be appreciated too!<\/p>\n

Related Reading<\/strong><\/p>\n