Shorebirds and Shades of Blue

Today was a shorebird survey day near Opal Beach. As usual, the water was just this side of paradise -- it almost made me want to go for a swim!



The pavilions are battered by hurricanes over the past several years, but they are doing remarkably well!



Not many birds were about today though -- it seems they were smarter than I am, and they sought shelter from the chill wind. There were some trusty SNPLs (snowy plovers) on the north shore...



along with a DUNL (dunlin) or two, but it was fairly quiet.

The good thing about this cold weather is that it's preventing the fall red tide bloom from getting out of control, and it should keep any late season storms at bay. See, there is a silver lining in everything!

PIPLs, SNPLs, WIPLs, et al.

Yes, it was another bird survey day. We have a lot of those in the winter, and yes, for a sea turtle girl, this is officially winter. Once that thermometer hits 80 degrees, it's time for a parka (if you don't believe me, just ask my co-workers...)

A lot of these will seem redundant, but it's time for 'peep' lessons. For today, it's just the following:



SAND (sanderlings)



WIPL (Wilson's plover)



PIPL (piping plover)



SNPL (snowy plover)



with some WILL (willets)



BRPE (brown pelicans)



and GBHE (great blue herons), thrown in for good measure....

Now let's try that again...



Can you tell what's in here? There are just two species...



Here, we have three... It helps to click to see them better, and pay close attention to leg color and their beaks!

I'll try to photograph a north shore survey soon so we can add some to the cast of characters in the park :)

Fort Pickens Photo day...

I left my good camera in the car today once I reached Fort Pickens as there were rain showers all around. I'll get better Blue Angels photos this weekend when they have their official show practice, and their Saturday show. I did get a lot of random shots with my old Canon...



A vigilant least tern (Sternula antillarum) was defending the entire colony in the Fort Pickens road corridor (since there is no road in places, there is a defined area that traffic must use). There were only two nests in there, but she did a valiant job of keeping them safe!



A freshly hatched (within 24 hours, I would guess) snowy plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) chick listened to mom's danger call and ran off, while mom displayed to distract our attention from her chick and her hatching egg. I didn't stay long enough to get a better photo because I wanted her to go back to her nest as soon as I'd checked it.



This killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) was sitting on a known nest when we walked by to see if it was still there. Like all killdeer, she does a great broken wing dance! I love their Latin name -- it's so appropriate as they call incessantly and loudly when chicks or eggs are about. Maybe it's not such a good idea to advertise the fact.



She went back to her eggs quickly, to shade them from the mid-day sun. What a great mama!



In all, it was a wonderful day at Fort Pickens. The lovely flowers, wee chicks and unhatched eggs everywhere made me think it was still spring.



There were so many great pictures I missed today, and so many that could have been better if I had my new camera. It's not worth risking it on a rainy day!



It's amazing how random rain can be at times -- look at the sharp wall here between sunshine and downpour.

EOS 40D's First Day on the Beach :)

Just another day in paradise...



I still have a lot to learn with my new toy, but I had fun today.



One thing I noticed is the fish eye effect of my telephoto...



And the fact that I need a mid-range lens between the 50mm and the 75 to 300mm, but I knew that already.



But, check out the colors on the skimmers (Rhynchops niger).



The chicks were a little scared, but they were up and running in a few minutes.



There were tons of sand sculptures to photograph.



And the pyramids in the dark, shooting to the east...



and in the sunlight, shooting to the west...



Unfortunately, the only turtle we had today was also made of sand.



The clouds gave me lots of opportunities to play around.



And this six egg snowy plover nest (Charadrius alexandrinus) was quite the photo op.



Even the parents posed...



Of course, they displayed a little too.



I have tons of pics from today, but I think I've bored you with enough for today...

Snowy Plovers Hatching!

I took Michelle on a brief tour of Perdido Key today. We didn't actually go on the beach due to the weather and lack of time (because of the Kemp's nest -- yeah!) but we did get to see this snowy plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) nest while it was hatching!



If you look closely at his picture, you can see a little beak poking out of the egg shell. The chick was just pipping, using his or her egg tooth to break free. It must be nice to have that first breath of fresh air!



Both Mom and Dad were vigilant.



This little one could run a bit, but hid only two to three inches from the nest. Maybe he thinks we can't see him if he can't see us. They are just too cute!



We only stayed long enough to check on the nest and take a few pics. The signs are still up, leaving the area closed to visitors until the chicks are able to run around a bit more. We'll take them down next time we visit Perdido Key.

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!