Sunday, August 14, 2016

Shorebird Clock=Right Tide And Right Time


 Last weekend when I checked visited the Westbrook shoreline early in the morning. Right from the start I knew it was the right tide and right time for seeing shorebirds. As I started to walk up the beach a yellowlegs seemed to be leading the way. 
This may not look like the ideal place to go surfing at low tide but for the shorebirds it was breakfast time.
There were plenty of Ruddy Turnstones like this one were around.
 As Oystercatchers picked through selections at the raw bar .... 
the Semipalmated Plovers just behind them had their own idea of what looked good on the daily menu. There were lots of Black-bellied Plovers and peeps around as well. 
 There was a strip of beach that was perpendicular to the shoreline making it convenient to walk out further during low tide.
There were lots of terns active along the sides of it including Least Terns which had eluded me in prior weeks. 

What a difference the tide makes. Once high tide arrived there were plenty of people and dogs but the shorebirds were gone and you would never know that just a just a couple of hours before it was a bird bonanza.

2 comments:

NEST Birding Tours said...

Seems like a nice spot for photography. We get into a lot of shorebird photography here on the coast in Vancouver. No tours out of here but just for fun. Not sure if you have any vagrants/strays there. Planning a visit sometime for family fun.

Linda said...

Beautiful series, Larry! Living in Montreal, Canada, I don't get to see birds like this so I really appreciate your lovely photos. Thank you so much for sharing. :)