[Don Boose]

Wonderful images of the horned owl, Glenn! I only once ever saw one in the wild, hiking at Philmont Scout Ranch 31 years ago.

The string idea is great, John. I will give it a try, meanwhile, these shots were taken with the camera hand held or braced against the side of the boat or on a railing, sometimes resting on a folded bandana or my cap.

Each image includes a file name with a general identification.

Some (the immature mute swan and the raft of gulls, terns, and shorebirds) were taken during a hike last Saturday at Cape May Point State Park with Don3 and the grandsons. The laughing gulls with some Caspian terns, shore birds, and others were on a sandbar in what we call the bunker or shallow pond near the Hawk Watch platform. We also saw a flight of five brown pelicans, but I had no hope of catching a shot.

The yellow legs, double-crested cormorants, clapper rail, and egret were Sunday aboard Skimmer, a flat bottomed boat that makes birding excursions into the salt marshes along the shores of Jervis Sound, north of Cape May Harbor and west of Wildwood, New Jersey. I THINK the yellow legs were greaters, but I defer to the judgment of you more knowledgeable birders.

The key image (albeit slightly blurry) is the one of the clapper rail, only the second time in my life that I have seen one, and this is by far the best sighting yet.

I snapped the buckeye Sunday at the dune near the cottage from where I watch the shipping in the Delaware Bay channel and the deep drafts moored at Big Stone anchorage. Usually, there would be hoards of migrating monarchs this time of year, but there has been a crash in the monarch population. We have also seen very few kestrels. In the past at this time of year we would have dozens of kestrels, some merlins, and the occasional peregrine falcon swooping over the dunes in the evening. Very, very few this year.

Now I am back in Carlisle, watching back yard birds, rather than shore birds. I am pleased with the new camera, and little by little I am getting used to it. I have not had the chance to digest all of your advice, Ash, but will certainly do so, and will continue to experiment.

Don