SPI ~ Shorebirds

The past 2 days have been great for getting good close looks of some of the shorebirds.  The falling tides made the area mostly mudflats with little water for the ducks to float on which is prime area for shorebirds to feed.

American Oystercatcher

Marbled Godwit ~ a bird I've seen in CA

 

Marbled Godwit

Black-bellied Plover

Black Skimmers

Black Skimmer

Black Skimmer

Happy Mother's Day

American Oystercatcher Mom with her chicks

Least Tern and her chicks

A wee bit older ~ American Oystercatcher chick

Piping Plover chick

Clapper Rail chick

Edwin Forsythe NWR ~ Birds

Barn Swallow

Common Yellow-throat

American Oystercatcher

Clapper Rail

Birding Cape May County ~ con't

Our next stop was the Northwood Center where there have been a fair numbers of warblers being seen. I was thrilled to see a Magnolia Warbler ~ Life Bird #384 for me.  Last stop was the Cape May Point State Park for more shorebirds.  By the end of the day we had seen about 70 species and we were all quite tired and ready to have a relaxing evening.

Magnolia Warbler ~ Life Bird #384 ~ Northwood Center

American Oystercatcher on Nest ~ Turning her eggs ~ Cape May Point State Park

Least Terns ~ Cape May Point State Park

Least Terns ~ Cape May Point State Park

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Cape May Point State Park ~ Chick Time

I have been looking for time to go  to the park to see if any chicks have been born yet. For me I love this time of year when the shorebirds have the babies.  Often the babies are the size of a cotton ball and are just really cute.  First, I found an American Oystercatcher with Mom.  The AO was probably at least a week old.   Later I saw 3 smaller chicks but didn't get any good pictures of them.  Dad Oystercatcher was down at the shoreline getting food for the chick.

American Oystercatcher Fly By

While out on the beach this AM I saw an American Oystercatcher couple fly down the Delaware Bay.  I have seen them before over here but not very often.

Cape Island Creek ~ American Oystercatcher

Last week when was kayaking on Cape Island Creek, the first birds I saw were American Oystercatchers feeding along the edge of the salt marsh.  Much to my surprise one of the pair had 3 tags on his legs.  When I came home I went online to send off information American Oystercatcher Band Database.  Today I received an email with information on "my" Bird.  It was captured and tagged 6/26/2006 in Avalon, NJ.  It was been seen 2009, 2011 and 2013 wintering in Charleston Inter-coastal waterways.  Summer of 2013 it was spotted in Hereford Inlet, Stone Harbor Point.  So my bird is 5 years old and has been spotted and reported 10 times in 5 years.

Cape May Point

This afternoon I did a walk with Lisa and Rob and some of their friends.  The couple are getting married tomorrow and since they are birders decided to incorporate a bird walk into the pre-wedding festivities.  Such a cool idea!
We walked the beach first. We saw a group of 4 American Oystercatchers with other 2 AO's displaying.  It is late to start nesting again but perhaps that is what is happening.  Before I left for Alaska there were at least 6 chicks split between 2 pairs and some eggs still in nests but sadly all of those chicks have been eaten except one.  I was fortunate enough to get picture of one of the AO pairs with their chicks right before leaving for my trip.  Next up were some Ring-billed Gulls on the beach.  We saw Least Terns but only one or two as the whole colony of LT has left the area.  I heard that the Nature Conservancy feels that it's because the eggs and nests were being lost to predators - perhaps fox and coyote.  Again I have some pictures of the LT with their nests and in courtship rituals from late May but I am sad not to see the terns here today.  There were also Forster's Tern, Common Terns, Black Skimmers and then a Gull tern was spotted by Rob. The ponds held a Killdeer, Mallards with Purple Martins and Tree Swallows flying over the tops. We saw Catbirds, Cowbirds, King birds, Robins and all manner of the usual summer regulars. We also saw Cabbage White butterflies and a Pearl Crescent butterfly. We ended the walk with over 50 species of birds and had fun meeting fellow birders and new friends.

Then after the walk I made a quick stop at The Triangle Park to look for butterflies. I haven't seen many butterflies since I got home and have talked to Will, expert who has said the butterfly species and overall numbers are down so far this spring/summer.  I can only hope that they start to pick up as the weather gets hotter.  The garden is looking good with lots of flowers blooming.  Then I stopped by The Meadows where I saw a Killdeer on nest out in the parking lot.

 

 

An AWESOME morning at the Meadows

Since the American Oystercatchers and their chicks were so fun to watch on Wednesday off to the Meadows I went again today to see if they were hanging out.  I thought by timing my visit pretty early in the morning I would have a chance to see Mom and Dad feeding the chicks at the water's edge.  At first they were up in the protected shorebird areas in an area of dune grass but now there were 3 chicks instead of 2.  While I was sitting on the beach the parents lead the chicks down to the water's edge to feed.  Initially, they were 50 feet away but as they fed they worked their way down towards the area where I was sitting keeping very still.  At times they were only 15 feet from me and so close I couldn't even fit them all in the view of the camera.  It was fun to watch the adults catch the sand crabs and break them apart for the chicks.  Sometimes the chicks would take the snack and other times they walked right by as if to say "Not now Dad, I'm exploring."  The chicks already preen and make some of the movements that the adults make.  They are only 3-4 days old and just little balls of fluff.  Here are some of my pictures.

American Oystercatcher and chicks - The Meadows

Another visit to the Meadows where I was happy to see an American Oystercatcher couple with 2 very small chicks.  I'd say the chicks were only a day or two old.  I also was very surprised to see one of the chicks attacking the second chick and pulling at his tail area and pecking at him.  The parent was nearby but didn't even seem to notice the interaction.

Nummy Island - migration is beginning

Black-crowned Night Heron all spiffed up for spring!

Short-billed Dowitcher hiding in the grasses.

American Oystercatcher

Stone Harbor Point Jetty

    I was able to over today to Stone Harbor Point after work and walked out to the jetty. In the water I saw Brant, Common Eider, Black Scoter while along the beach feeding were Sanderling and Dunlin.  Up on the rocks were American Oystercatcher, Dunlin,  Ruddy Turnstone  and several species of gulls.  Tide was out and I walked out the jetty but as with all jetties you must be careful as the moss on the rocks makes them very slippery.  Proper footwear is always a good idea to prevent any falls.