Common Greenshank in New Jersey! ~ October 26, 2017

On Monday, October 23rd, Sam Galick made a super find of a Common Greenshank at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey, also known as Brigantine. My friend, Jason Horn, called me about it in the mid-afternoon and, since I happened to be off that day, I drove over to his house and we headed right down there. Along the way, we hit major traffic jams around Philadelphia and just barely made it down there before dusk, only to find out that the bird had not been seen for a long while. We drove back home and that was that. Or so I thought. After no sightings on Tuesday, the bird was briefly seen again on Wednesday, so I scheduled another vacation day for a second try on Thursday.

Early that morning, Jason, Matt Sabatine, and I headed back to "Brig". We got there soon after sunrise and slowly drove the Wildlife Drive, stopping to check all the groups of Yellowlegs. At around 8:30, soon after we made the turn onto the east dike, several good-sized groups of Yellowlegs flew over the impoundment. As the last group flew by, Jason yelled, "I got the bird!" Luckily, he was able to get Matt and I on it as it dropped into the impoundment with the Yellowlegs. Jason hollered to the other birders spread out along that area of the dike and, eventually, everyone got on the bird. Scopes yielded nice views. The bird was close enough that its much paler look made it fairly easy to pick out even with binoculars. For about a half-hour or so, I worked on trying to get some documentation photos. They manage to show the much cleaner, paler look and the dull green legs when compared to the darker and more heavily-streaked look and bright yellow legs of the surrounding Yellowlegs. The Common Greenshank is the center bird in the next five photos.

Common Greenshank (center bird in the above five photos).

Eventually, the bird took off with the accompanying Yellowlegs and I was able to get some flight shots that showed the diagnostic white patch running up the back of the bird.

Yellowlegs (left) and Common Greenshank (right).

Common Greenshank (trailing bird).

Common Greenshank (leading bird).

Common Greenshank (center bird).

Common Greenshank (lower left bird).

Common Greenshank (left-center bird).

We eventually continued on, birded the rest of the loop, and then took a second tour around the impoundments. Among the notable birds found were an American Avocet and a pretty late Red-eyed Vireo in the wooded section of the loop.

Thanks to Sam Galick for a heck of a find and to Jason for picking the bird out for everyone to see. It's rare for me to get a life bird within a couple hours of home anymore, so this was a very successful day. All of my photos of it can be found in my New Jersey Adventures Album.

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