Bird watching between heavy showers today.
Starlings – size wise they are a bit smaller than a Blackbird. From a distance in their flocks Starlings look black or brown but when you see them closer they are full of colour – very glossy with a sheen of purples whites and greens.
A Pied Wagtail grabs a spot on a fence once the Starlings have flown off.
I always find it quite difficult to identify which Godwit’s we see at the Haven.I ask myself are Black-tailed Godwits or Bar-tailed Godwits? I had some help with this today the picture was a miss – totally missing most of the bird taking off but his tail was a give away in identifying the bird. (she last Godwit picture for the answer).
Confirmed they are Black-tailed Godwit’s !!!!😊
Redshank were about again today. The first two pictures give a good size comparison with a Snipe.
Redshank and a sleeping Teal.
Passing duck flypast.
Continued Reflections from my world. 
It’s amazingly fun and relaxing watching wading birds. Beautiful photos!
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Bird names are so entertaining. Starlings – well, yes, all the spots on them look like stars. (And I agree, up close in the right light, their feathers are beautifully colorful, iridescent.) Redshanks – yes, one can see the bright orange/red color of their legs offering inspiration (“shank” = leg). And I love your photo ID of the Black-tail Godwit, but I have to wonder, how did it get the name Godwit? A quick search suggests the name is an imitation of it’s call…?
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Starlings I would have recognized in this post – they are pretty with their iridescent plumage and they have a pleasant song as well. People who have bird feeders complain the starlings try to take over. The other shore birds I don’t see which is a shame. I do follow the local/Detroit Audubon Society and we have some shore birds, but nothing like you have there Andy.
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When we were kids the Starlings took over the bird table in big flocks and we would moan. Then in the late 80’s they stopped and you rarely saw a starling in the garden. They are back in the garden now in small flocks. I am seeing quite big flocks by the sea now feeding on the seaweed.
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I didn’t know they fed on seaweed. We get them in the neighborhoods a lot and the legend is 100 starlings were first introduced in 1890 in Central Park, New York. The person who brought them over from England, brought other birds and wanted to introduce more species to America. I just looked this story up and they say “starlings are one of the most abundant birds in North America with a population of approximately 200 million.”
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That’s interesting that is a lot of birds!
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I thought so too!
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