They're Back!

Hi everyone! Welcome spring!

When I was a little girl growing up in the Midwest we waited each spring for the first robin to return. On Cape Cod my dad always planted lots of holly bushes so the birds would find berries when they arrived in early March. Here at the beach we don't have many songbirds, so I watch for the return of the oystercatchers, my first harbingers of spring.

These funny colorful shorebirds arrive each year promptly by St. Patrick;s Day and this year, despite the icy weather, they are here!

I was so happy to see them.

They seem shy again, but healthy and energetic.

Look at their bright eyes! [click to enlarge all pix]

They were bathing and dancing and preening, their mating ritual.

I was a bit concerned that they would find their beach habitat too changed. Not so much this pair, the eastern pair, since their area is more or less as it was before H. Sandy.

But the pair that nests to the west will find no dunes or high ground for their nest this year.

They lay their eggs right in the sand, just slightly hollowed out, no real nests. I hope they move far enough above the new tideline to be safe.

But they seem to use their birdy GPS to lay their eggs in exactly the same spot each year, no matter how the winter storms have changed the sand and tides.

Even the water looks warmer, doesn't it?
So beautiful. So fresh.

And the beach is huge at low tide.

The only bit of color caught my eye...

A rarely seen bright orange scallop...

And look! Our boardwalk is going into place.

Its arrival makes me think of hot summer days and sultry nights. Summer will be here soon!?
Oh I hope so!

love

     lizzy

gone to the beach....