Great Strides

Those legs are hard to miss. Bright yellow against the soft blues and browns of the Mink River Basin, they almost look borrowed from another bird. Caught midstride, this greater yellowlegs moves through the shallows with its bill ready and its attention on the water. There’s a lot to like about the feather detail, but that slightly awkward step is what makes the photograph for me.

The Mink River is a good place to spend some time watching what’s going on around you. At first, you might notice the water, the marsh, and the wooded shoreline. Stay awhile and smaller things start to hold your attention. A bird working its way along the edge can become reason enough to stop, especially when you get a clear look at something you might otherwise have walked or paddled right past.

Despite the name, greater yellowlegs belong to the sandpiper family. Their long legs let them feed in water deeper than many other shorebirds, where they hunt for small fish and aquatic invertebrates. They’re also considerably louder than this photograph suggests. Nicknames such as “tattler” and “yelper” refer to their calls, which can make a quiet wetland feel a little less quiet in a hurry.

The setting is worth knowing, too. The Mink River and Lake Michigan meet here to form a freshwater estuary. We tend to associate estuaries with rivers reaching the ocean, but a large lake can play that role as well. This meeting of waters supports fish, wetland plants, and an impressive variety of birds. More than 200 bird species pass through the preserve each year, making it an important stop along their migration routes.

That’s part of what keeps a place like this interesting. Visit again and the water, the season, and the wildlife may give you something entirely different to watch. On this occasion, it was one shorebird, a few inches of water, and a very good pair of yellow legs.

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