Santa Rosa

I was hanging around the gate in the Santa Rosa area today, waiting for our newest SCA intern, Michelle, to arrive, when I decided to check out the signs posted for anyone who walks through the park. There are a lot of signs!



I found this one a little confusing.... Check out the second rule (if you click on the image, you can see a larger version).



If you can't have pets on the beach, which pets need to be on a leash? It's a bit confusing, but then many things are these days.



These little Common Nighthawk chicks (Chordeiles minor) seemed a little confused too, as they were surrounded by least terns and asphalt. One day, we may get rid of all the old road bed strewn around the island, for now, the birds are using it as camouflage for their nests.



Once Michelle arrived, we took off to GPS turtle and plover nests, assess tern colonies and look for new snowy plover nests. There may not be a lot of new plover nests this season, but the skimmers are starting to take off!



I didn't want to harass the birds too much, but I wanted Michelle to see the eggs so she would recognize them when she sees them again.



This pair had four eggs already... and we didn't think they would nest here. Silly biologists.



These parents did a great job displaying and attracting attention away from their developing eggs.



I'm still trying to get a good picture of a skimmer in flight. It's harder than you think, given the limits of my current camera.



I can't wait for my new camera to arrive... I hope I'll do a better job of capturing life at the beach once I learn how to use it!