Sunny, warm, and calm
A wonderful morning
awaits us on LBI as I get an early start to check on the activity at the
beach. It’s the same cast of characters
at first with the Forster’s terns working hard at getting breakfast from the
crashing surf. As the waves hit
the shore and run up onto the beach, the terns first hover and then drop down
to pick up whatever morsel the sea has delivered.
Eventually, I notice that
there are a couple of young birds which have taken up positions on the beach
and are quietly awaiting their parents return with a bit of breakfast for them
as well. They remain quiet until
“Mom” come near and then the younsters let the parent know that they are hungry
and ready for a bit to eat.
The parent comes in response
to the calls of the young and delivers that ort the juvenile bird had so
patiently waited for.
As I watched this
scenario play out, it became obvious that pedestrian traffic can really
interfere with the normal routine of these birds. More often than not, as the little birds awaited their
delivery, joggers, strollers,
fishermen, kids just doing what kids do and others would come by and spook the
juveniles into flight. The bird
would fly away, circle around, land and take up position once again only to be
chased off once again by the next passing human.
I did notice this morning one other
tern I had not seen up until now.
A Common tern was mixed in with the Forsters, making me wonder how many
others had gone unnoticed. The two
species look so similar that I very easily could have must assumed they were
all Forsters and overlooked the Commons.
 |
| Common tern (note dark wind-tips) |
As I prepared to head back up
to the beach house, a larger bird flew overhead at some distance out to
sea. Even though the bird was far
off, the silhouette was unmistakable…..an American oystercatcher.
My plan is to head across the
island and visit the bay side tomorrow morning to see if I can drum up any new
species. Sure is nice to be back
to the sea.
No comments:
Post a Comment