Greater Yellowlegs

This August, I didn't find nearly the number of species of birds that I did in 2015. This month is also a lot slower. Unlike some birders, for whom the list length is everything (insert obvious crude comparison here), I'm fine with that. Species counts are just another tool I use to try to understand what is going on, on my patch. Counts happen to be a powerful tool, if used well, but it's about understanding, not competition.

Here are a couple of Greater Yellowlegs (a sort of large sandpiper) that I don't see enough of. Work can be a pressure cooker environment, the recent news reports are usually depressing, etc. Being able to walk out the back gate, go down to the river and see a couple of neat birds and fall color, reflected in late-summer low river levels, is a welcome break.

Well. That either matters to you, or it doesn't. If not, I hope you have some other means of coping.

Greater Yellowlegs, Willamette River, Linn C, OR, 2016-09.04