Bowman's Beach

My friend Jewel is in town and she is on the beginning stages of learning about birds, I was more than happy to accompany her to the beach for some further study.....Bowman's Beach seemed like a good idea and it turned out to be perfect.

Our first sighting was a Short-billed Dowitcher, he must have gotten separated from the pack because he was all alone.

The sun is rising and the sky is waking up with gorgeous colors.

The Gull coming in for a landing is looking familiar....

Aha! It is! An adult Lesser Black-backed Gull.

A pretty big gull - towering over the Laughing Gulls at twice the size.

Another beautiful surprise - American Oystercatcher with Black-bellied Plover, Sanderling and Willet.

Since their bill is not totally red - that tells me that it hasn't quite reached adulthood yet.

A couple Semi-palmated Plovers were seen.

Several flocks of Sanderling were observed.

My friend again - one of the perks of fall into winter is the sighting of these beautiful Gulls.

On our way out Jewel pointed out this Yellow-crowned Night Heron sleeping in the Mangroves.

What a great way to seal the day!

Great sightings on the beach this morning, check my E-bird list for the rest of the species seen today.

Bunche Beach

After several days of morning rain, it was nice to see the sun this morning with a low tide - time to visit Bunche Beach and see who is feeding.

 

Several Semi-palmated Plovers were foraging....

as well as Short-billed Dowitchers.

Short-billed Dowitcher

Semi-Palmated Plover

Roseate Spoonbills were feeding too.

And the Least Sandpipers are back!

And so are the Spotted Sandpipers.

The Green Heron checking it twice....wondering who that is in the neighborhood.

On your mark, get set.....

GO!

The Marbled Godwits were in good numbers - one of my favorite.

The Least Sandpiper - the smallest of them all.

The Marbled Godwit with a Willet - a fine pair they make.

What's not to love at Bunche Beach!

Short-billed Dowitchers.

Same specie - different age and plumage.

A Tricolored Heron - beautiful!

And the one that steals the show - the white morph of the Reddish Egret

Enjoying his ballyhoo catch.

Yum....that was good!

Fluff, fluff....shake, shake, shake....

get ready....

and start the whole process of feeding all over again....

As we neared the exit toward the parking lot - a Calico Crab grabbed our attention...

as well as some Oyster clusters - looking like a foot print in the sand....though, you wouldn't want to step on that.

And folks, the Calico Crab has a message for you....listen up.....

Great message, don't you think? This sign should be at the entrance of every single public beaches - it carries an important message. (My E-bird List for today.)