Foggy Morning

Monday morning had a fog alert with limited visibility. Since bad weather makes good photos, I was at Great Meadows to capture a few, before the sun rose and burnt off the fog.










Wandering around the lower impoundment, I tried to catch the beavers out and about. They weren't available. But there was a flock of Goldfinches that lead me to the lodge.






I like the shape of these trees, but without the fog they have always faded into the background.




Arriving out the outflow of the lower impoundment the fog was starting to lift, but pockets still persisted.


Click on the panorama to see a larger version


You can't beat the combination of blue water / sky and cat tail reeds turned golden by the rising sun




After Canada Geese and Coots, Sparrows must the the next most numerous type of bird currently at Great Meadows. While previously Song and Swamp Sparrows reigned supreme, now there are plenty of Tree Sparrows, which have migrated south from the tundra for the winter. We offer a song sparrow, followed by some photos from a couple of tree sparrows that were cooperative to give a 360 view.




Now for some tree sparrows to compare and contrast. I wonder where they get their name from. At Great Meadows they were rarely found in the trees. They were more common in the cat tail reeds.














Many use the white wing bars or the bi-colored bill to identify them. For me the easiest identifier is the dark spot on the chest.