These two birds were resting on the marsh north of the Powder Point Bridge (roughly opposite the bathhouse at the public end of the beach), in Duxbury, MA. The photos were taken under a cloudy sky at about 7:15pm on June 5, 2010.

I didn't see any problems with either of them until I looked at the picture; however, it appears that the older (lighter) bird may have some sort of light filament involved in its wings. I didn't flush the birds because I didn't want to stress them by getting any closer (pix taken at about 50 ft). They didn't seem at all concerned as I approached them, but I didn't want to press my luck.

Since one doesn't see these birds on the ground on Duxbury Beach, I wondered at the time if there might be a problem. The fact that there were two birds together and of different ages made me think that maybe it wasn't an injury or similar problem.

All that said, it provided an opportunity to get a few nice photos!