Banded birds at the beach

It's officially the start of the Snowy Plover nesting season - so, off I go to the Gulfside Park beach to check things out.

Some of the Snowy Plovers have been banded, this particular lady got her blings as an adult in 2009 in Sanibel.

This little fellow was banded just recently on the East End of Sanibel.

This area of the beach had 8 Snowy Plover, this one is not banded.

Another banded Snowy Plover - this one got its bands last month around the Lighthouse of Sanibel.

My friend Elaine is admiring this beach art which was done on the edge of the roped off area for the Snowy Plovers.

Nearby - a Lesser Black-backed Gull is spotted.

No wonder Sanibel is known as the seashell capital of the world.

Within the shells - treasure can be found such as this Spider crab which looked comical with its two barnacles on its back.

A Red Knot! It liked to hang out with the Willets.

Kites are not my favorite since they look like a predator to the beach birds - but this one, being a sea turtle, I make an exception.

Then we saw some Sanderlings that were also banded....

the only information I have so far is that Sanderlings are banded in Canada - who knew that they came from my country! Oh Canada!

All in all, I'd say it was a great day revisiting the Snowy Plover - I look forward to another season with the hopes of successful fledglings.

Back on the beach

A cold front has come through and I can hear the surf - it's time for a visit at the beach.

It didn't take me long to find a group of birds - can you see them?

They blend so well with their environment that sometimes they can be missed all together if they don't move.....a handful of Ruddy Turnstone and one Red Knot.

The Snowy Plovers were hanging by the rack line, soon it will be nesting season.

The Snowy Plover blend extremely well too - see if you can find the pair in the photo below.

A Dunlin hanging out with the Sanderlings.

A few more Dunlins in this group....soon they will develop that black patch on their belly just prior to taking the flight north for their nesting season.

An adult Herring Gull

An adult Lesser Black-backed Gull

Gulls can be really tricky to identify because they change over the course of 4 years and the season brings on another change - oy!

An adult Brown Pelican

A Red Knot

A reaction to the cold front - shells/starfish/etc wash up on the beach - some will make it but many will die.

They look pretty but they don't smell so good.

Same with the Horse Conch

The crab traps get dislodged from their 'anchors' and wash up on the beach - some good folks gathered them up in one pile, thank you.

 

Bunche Beach

I had the opportunity to join my friend Elaine this morning and to observe some birds at Bunche Beach - it was low tide and early - a perfect mix for a great outing, come and see....

Our first sighting was in the parking lot - one of two Yellow-crowned Night Heron is pictured here zooming in for a mangrove crab.

Oh! I spot a Marbled Godwit - one of my favorite birds.

And Short-billed Dowitcher.

That Godwit is really striking with its pink and black bill.

A Willet and a Red Knot. We observed this Red Knot for quite some time, thinking that it might be a White-rumped but with the help of my photos, books and friend's input - it was eventually verified as a Red Knot.

Black Skimmers and Semi-palmated Plovers took flight when a few powered gliders came by.

More Short-billed Dowitcher

That famous Red Knot

pictured with two Dowitchers.

Another Marbled Godwit - this one took on a different hue with the sun/light and appears as if its bill is orange.

In the distance - a Bald Eagle.

We saw several Reddish Egret - a dark morph is pictured here.

Well, these Marbled Godwit were quite a treat to see among many other shorebirds....check my E-Bird List for the 31 species we saw this morning.