Some New Birds and Lots of Old Friends (Birds) on Thanksgiving!

This is a collage of my Little Blue Heron that I saw the other day.  I had these pics on my small point and shoot and really liked them. These I include in the category of "old friends".

Another of my very favorites -- the Oystercatcher.  There were a lot of them down in the Ft. Fisher basin at low tide on Thanksgiving.  There were a few people down there but not as many as most weekends and holidays.  

He was doing a lot of grooming while I watched.  Eventually they all got chased away by someone walking along the beach.

I think this is a juvenile Herring Gull as he was so big and very noisy and not hanging out with the other gulls.

This is an awful picture but the bird was very far away, moving fast and I just took the picture as fast as I could as it looked so different to me.  Turns out is a Clapper Rail which is common enough but one I have never seen before.  They tend to hang out in the reeds so  you can't see them!  The tail bob is the giveaway but I needed help in identifying this one as I was looking in the sandpipers!

Another common bird but one which I haven't seen before -- a Dunlin. I guess I had not realized they were so small.  There were Semi-palmated plovers, Willets  and Sanderlings as well but again, these looked different, even though they were just a speck in the camera lens.  I couldn't get close.

There were lots of birds off shore down by Ft. Fisher and I will have to walk down there tomorrow.  I saw my favorite sea bird -- the Northern Gannett which has arrived back for the winter.

It was a nice Thanksgiving treat to see so many birds!