(click on photo for larger view)
My birding friend Judy said this about the lesser yellowlegs in a post at my old blog:
It’s a shore bird but enjoys making a lot of noise while teetering at the top of trees. It is one of the prime food sources for the peregine falcon which, after a thrilling come-back, are somewhat on the decline. One theory [on the decline of the peregine falcon] is that the yellowlegs are being poisoned by insecticides from farmers clearing coffee fields in Central America.
The old post linked above includes a picture of a lesser yellowlegs doing a bit of tree-top teetering. If you want the whole lesser yellowlegs experience, look at the lesser yellowlegs in the tree-top photo while listening to the lesser yellowlegs call.
And while we’re talking about her, let me tell you a little about Judy’s latest adventures. Right now, she’s in South Africa, where she is doing some volunteering for the same organization my daughter volunteered with a little over a year ago. She’s a retired teacher and she’ll be working in an elementary school, doing a little training of the school staff and working with the children as well. She will, of course, fit a little birding into her schedule, too, and hopes to see many wonderful South African birds.
On the Sunday before she left, Judy told me that not only did the idea for this trip come from my blog, but also the means to do it. She sold an original painting she bought for $35.00 through the gallery I linked to in the post on Canadian artist Jim Logan and made enough to finance her entire trip.