Labor Day Beach Ramble

Because my good buddy in the normal leader of the beach ramble injured his knee, I led the beach ramble on Labor Day.  Prior to the ramble.  Jenner and I went to Allens Pond early where I did some macro photography, which included photographing a very cooperative Clearwing Moth.

Sulfur Butterfly

Sulfur Butterfly

Snowberry Clearwing Moth

Besides Jenner and I we had six adults and two children for the walk.  One of the adults was part of my meet up group and another adult brought her friend because the last time she was on a brambles.  She enjoyed it so much.  All the pictures of the ramble were taken by Jenna.  As we walked down to the beach loop, I explained about the refuge and showed the people butterflies, flowers and other interesting facts.  When we reached the culvert there was a blue crab feeding.  The Osprey was flying overhead and then was sitting on its nest.  Great Egret's flew by, as well as double crested cormorants.

Blue Crab

Double-Crested Cormorant in Flight

The biggest surprises when we arrived on the beach a portion to our right was filled with cobbles and the sand to the left as we walked down was basically clean.  There was no rack or seaweed and I had a hard time finding shells to talk about.  Slipper shells were rare and jingle shows were even rarer.  Sanderlings were running on the beach.  We did talk about a number of different the things as we walked slowly back on the road toward the field station.

Sanderling

Sanderling

Then, we were involved in a fantastic event.  The swallows were swarming and probably thousands of them were surrounding us landing in the trees and the bushes, calling taking off returning, which gave everyone a real feeling of nature.  This event probably made the whole ramble worthwhile.

Swallow Swarming

Swallow Swarming

If you check on the Allens Pond site and view the calendar you can find out when the next ramble will be and what other great events that the Allens Pond sponsor.  Http://www.massaudubon.org/get-outdoors/wildlife-sanctuaries/allens-pond

World Shorebird Day

September 6 is World Shorebird Day https://www.facebook.com/worldshorebirdsday .  Counting actually can be done September fifth, sixth or seventh. I counted today because I will be out on the Atlantic ocean for two different trips on the sixth and seventh.  I had selected the beach loop at Allens Pond for the location where I would count.

Shorebird wise, there were not a lot of different species and a number of shorebirds, which is flying overhead.  There were a number of shorebirds feeding up and down the shoreline, so I just sat myself down with my big lens in front of me and waited till the shorebirds came to me.  This way, instead of me chasing them, and the shorebirds flying off.  I had a better chance at photographing.  There were a number of semipalmated plovers, in fact, one of them walked up to within 3 feet of me and stared right at me.

Semipalmated Plover

Semipalmated Plover, Looking at Me

The main bird feeding on the shore were sandelings, most of them were juvenile and they could be distinguished from the few adults by their nice clean feathers.

Sandeling Hiding in the Wrack Line

Sandeling Adult Changing into Winter Plumage

Juvenile Sandeling With Food in Its Mouth

Walking back to the field station, by the culvert a green Heron jumped up and then posed on a branch allowing some great pictures.

Green Heron

There is still time for you to participate in the world shorebird count you can join at this site http://worldshorebirdsday.wordpress.com/global-shorebird-counting/


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Shorebird Migration

Sandeling

Because of a recent email from my friend Paul Champlin "For those who don't remember or otherwise know about this, unlike most places in Massachusetts, Horseneck Beach (from the mouth of the Westport River to the public beach itself) hosts tens of millions (if not more) mole crabs. They vary in size from pinhead size to thumb size, and live near the surface of the sand exclusively in the wave-break zone. the density and variability in size of these critters allows shorebirds to gorge themselves on them with ease. Though this beach is visited by thousands of people per day (sometimes tens of thousands) the shorebirds often continue to find it beneficial to remain on the beach (though mornings until 9ish and evenings after 6pm) are best on good beach-going days. On poor beach-going days, the birds can be found all day long. This congregation of shorebirds tends to vanish by mid September when Peregrine Falcon migration bumps up a notch." the other day, Doug and I visited Horseneck Beach, to see what shorebirds we could find and for me anything else to photograph.

By the way, if you are there before 9 AM, there is no one at the guard shack to collect the parking fee or after 6 PM.  If you are Massachusetts resident and are 62 older you can apply for The MassParks Senior Citizen Pass.
Anyway, when we arrived, there were hardly any people at the beach, despite it being a beautiful sunny day, but that may be because there was no swimming allowed because of the rip currents from hurricane/tropical storm Bertha.  Waves were crashing onto the shore and there were a couple of people surfing.

Surfing

Besides the usual species of gulls, everywhere up and down the shoreline, there were shorebirds feeding.  Ranging in size from the large whimbril down to the little semipalmated sandpiper.  Most of the time, all I had to do was sit down on the sand and watch the shorebirds running by me.  Because the whimbril, and the Willit were further up the beach, we walked toward him stay in high in no way from them so we would not disturb them.  Then I got down low and slowly move toward them so I could photograph all these beautiful birds.  I captured always images utilizing my Nikon D800 with a Nikon 70-200 mm lens with a 1.7 converter, ISO 640 and manual mode settings on the camera.

Black-bellied Plover

Semipalmated Plover and Sandeling Flying

Willet

Whimbril

Semipalmated Plover

Now Horseneck beach is not the only place with a shorebirds are now starting to congregate.  The shorebirds can be found anywhere along the coast, and this is a wonderful time of year to go out and enjoy the seashore and observe and photograph the shorebirds, as they make their way down toward South America.  You can find shorebirds in all different plumages ranging from breeding plumage, all the way to their basic winter plumage.


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Nickerson Beach-Finale

Common tern flying along the beach in between photographers

This is the final blog about Nickerson Beach.  The blog will be mainly photographs of some of the other species of birds that we saw while we were there.  Because of the month that we were there, the common terns finished nesting, so there were no common tern chicks, just juvenile common terns.

Common tern in flight

Juvenile and Adult Common Tern

Juvenile Common Tern

Common Tern Flying with Fish in Its Mouth

There was not a lot of different species of shorebirds, mainly sandelings, with a few ruddy turnstones, and semipalmated plovers.  We did find however, a juvenile piping plover and juvenile least sandpipers, with their beautiful rufous coats.

Least Sandpiper

Least Sandpiper

Piping Plover

Piping Plover

Ruddy Turnstone

Sanderling

Sanderling

Semipalmated Plover

A Pair of Sandelings

There were the usual species of gulls, great black-backed gull, herring gull, ring-billed gull and laughing gulls.

Herring Gull, Feeding

Laughing Gull in Flight

Next year, I am planning to make at least two trips down to Nickerson Beach, one in July and one in August so I can capture the different stages of life on the beach.

Photographs from Tuesday's Birding

Semipalmated Sandpiper and Semipalmated Plover

On Tuesday, Doug and I got together for a usual day of birding.  The plan was to bird Horseneck Beach (of course I was photographing as usual) looking for shorebirds and to finish up at Gooseberry Neck.  The morning was foggy, but the temperature was comfortable.  At Horseneck Beach, there were a large number of shorebirds, but nothing unusual.  We observed sanderlings, semipalmated plovers, and semipalmated sandpipers.  I was hoping for some Dowichers or Whimbrils, but none were to be had.

Semipalmated Sandpipers

Semipalmated Plover

Gooseberry had a number of birds, but only a few were photographable.  One of the more interesting photographs was that of Laughing Gulls, one in winter plumage, one in summer plumage and one in juvenile plumage.  With all three in the same frame, it gives a good comparison of the differences.

Laughing Gulls in Three Plumages

American Goldfinch Feeding

Female Common Yellowthroat

Ruddy Turnstone on a Rock

Once we finished Gooseberry, we drove over to the field station of Allens Pond, because I had a leave some photographs off.  Doug was surveying the marsh and noticed a number of Glossy Ibis mixed in with Snowy and Great Egret's.  We walked down to the culvert and despite trying to sneak quietly and slowly the glossy Ibis flew.  We then went up on the rise overlooking the pannes, and the glossy Ibis again took off, but I was able to capture some photographs of the glossy Ibis flying.

Glossy Ibis in Flight

Snowy Egret

Snowy Egrets