Early Morning Birding

It was a beautiful morning at the beach. However, with the gate opening at 6:00 am the sun was already up and it is starting to get warm. I was sharing the beach this morning with the girl who runs barefoot, Cici and her husband Ron, and Dawn. I found two Least Sandpipers on the pier, talked to Cici and Ron, and then headed north. I sat on the stump and listened to the Marsh Wrens and watched the backwater. Nothing much happening there. A tern flew over silently. It had a less direct flight style and seemed overall to be smaller than the Caspian Terns I usually see. It turned and showed me it’s notched tail. This was a Common Tern.

I decided to walk further north. I was prepared to walk through mud and water, with my tall rubber boots coming up almost to my knees. I was hoping to find something from a vantage point further north where I could see past the phragmites. There was nothing to see so I turned my attention to the Canada Geese who were on the lake close to the shore but further north. There were a few gulls, one I couldn’t quite make out, with the weeds appearing to hide it. I took a closer look. There was an Avocet! I paused and looked again. Yes, an American Avocet!! This is a bird we try for every year but it is not a given on the lakefront.

I texted the group so they could come to the beach and see it. It wasn’t long until Andy was there. I was very careful not to disturb it. As I was taking photos from a distance it started bobbing it’s head. This was a clue that it was getting nervous. The photos here are heavily cropped.

On the way back I stopped at the outlet, finding Cici, Ron, and Donna getting good looks at the Least Bittern. They soon headed north to find the Avocet while I had a nice visit with Donna whom I had just met. As we were talking a group of smaller birds flew by. There were two that seemed to be attached to each other. What was going on?? The larger bird was a Merlin and the “attached” bird was an Eastern Meadowlark clutched in his talons. The other birds appeared to be Starlings, mobbing the Merlin. The were moving so fast there was no time for photos. Next, Donna and I had very good looks at the Least Bittern adult, making a long flight over the backwater. After Donna went to see the Avocet the Bittern came out again. This time I was ready!