Returning

Hello on this blustery March day! It's a bit warmer but the cold gusts are still blowing through the cracks in my old window frames.  

The other day I went down to the beach to see if my Oystercatcher birds had arrived on schedule. They return every year on St. Patrick's Day. And there they were, prompt as ever despite the cold and the blizzard that wasn't earlier in last week.

The boardwalk has been partially re-installed, so I was able to hike down to the beach.

It doesn't look any lower, though, too bad.

It's such a thrill for me, every March, to climb over the dune and there they are! These funny brave birds, who make this their nesting ground and summer home.

They are tired and shy when they arrive. No close up pictures allowed.

This pair was in its spot to the west, the female broody and the male trying to distract me, even though I stayed far away. Note the awful and dangerous large truck tracks! So distressing.

Oystercatchers may live as long as 15 to 20 years, so these are apparently my usual little friends. By midsummer, if I am able to visit them they'll allow me to come closer [but not too close!].
They like the big expanse of open beach for their nests; they can see predators from far away.

I counted about 15 Oystercatchers, most far far away, and perhaps a few were small gulls? But a good count anyway. I am very pleased.
Here is perhaps? Gully!

There were lots of footprints/ bird tracks along the edges of the dunes. I thought they were crow tracks. We have many crows every spring. I believe they are fish crows who nest in the marsh.

 But this looks like an oystercatcher try-out nest! So I'll have to keep watching.

I also spied rabbit tracks and other small tracks, maybe possums or dune rats? There was a hawk hovering too, he thought those tracks meant ''dinner'', I suppose.

On the way home I noticed the neighbors' andromeda bush is blooming. It's the first shrub to bloom and is very hardy at the ocean edge.

Indoor note: a friend gave me this very beautiful frame last summer. I couldn't do much with it at the time, but in a burst of spring home doings, I added small watercolors , from my beach journal books.

I like it, though my kids weren't impressed, hahaha.

I hope you have a good weekend and can get out in the fresh air, despite the cold! Look for signs of spring? This is from my brother---spring wildflowers near his desert home. Isn't it lovely! Someday....

love, 

lizzy,  

gone to the beach...