August 11, 2021: Shorebird Migration
I hope everyone is staying safe in this very hot weather. Walks in the early morning or early evening are now a much better option. The water level in the lagoon is lowering as more water is needed on the golf course. So now a very nice muddy shoreline has been exposed—perfect for our migrating shorebirds!
The Spotted Sandpiper is a regular spring and fall visitor. The spots are part of their spring breeding plumage. Although they lose those spots in fall, they can be easily identified by their scurrying over the rocks and mud, their tails often bobbing up and down, imitating wave action, hoping to capture an unsuspecting insect.
If you’ve been on our ocean shores, you have probably seen many
species of sandpipers. As they return to their wintering grounds in South America, they make stops at our inland lakes and ponds. One of the smallest is the Least Sandpiper, only 6 inches in length. However, if you look closely, you will notice yellow legs, although they are sometimes obscured by the mud that gets splattered around!
I have seen both birds this month and hope you will too.
Happy Birding!!