Our Magnificent Marsh

I drive through the Great Meadows Marsh everyday. To and from work, to and from just about everything! Lordship, my home, occupies a peninsula with only 2 roads in and out. One passes through the most beautiful stretch of marshland, the other circles around the small airport that separates our section of town from the "mainland". Wildlife abounds in the marsh but it is dangerous to stop and photograph this beauty on the long, thin two lane winding road.

 I was able to pull over in one safe section and capture the Great Egret! They are such an elegant bird and I look forward to seeing them every year. Thanks to my Peterson Field Guide, I was able to distinguish the Great Egret from the smaller Snowy Egret...bills are a different color! Size is a hard to compare unless they are standing near each other. Aren't they fabulous?

From the Town of Stratford web site....The Great Meadows is an extensive tidal marsh ecosystem behind and protected by Long Beach.  Though it once occupied a much larger area, the Great Meadows still provides critical habitat for a diversity of fish and wildlife species.  Approximately 270 species of birds can be seen at different times of the year.  The area was once described by Roger Tory Peterson as one of the best coastal bird habitats in the United States.