Back to my blog beginnings, a walk down to the beach to look for the first hint of spring here--my beloved Oystercatchers, a large and showy shorebird, protected status, black and white feathered, squawking clowns with pink legs and orange beaks. They live in dedicated pairs or threesomes and return to exact nesting spots every year.
Off we go, on a sunny Sunday, avoiding the scary big trucks who groom the sand weekdays through April.
The vintage duck markers that we call the Par Ducks have survived the winter storms. The shell installation is obliterated, but the wooden ducks parade on.
The eastern gaggle has been repositioned to a higher place on the dune.
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The western Pars remain in the grassy edge area.
The beach is huge. 1.6 miles round trip,
And the boardwalk not entirely replaced.
I didn't really walk along the edge, just down and back in a tight loop. Oooh, out of shape for soft sand hiking, puff puff, gasp gasp.
They're here!
Just one couple.
There were many people on the beach, so the OCs were shy and probably exhausted after their long flight north. Photos are from quite a distance, quality is poor, sorry.
The other birds are sanderlings, a small sandpiper that travels in large flocks to the northern Canadian tundra to nest.
I didn't see any plovers, but evidence of nest tryouts were there, with footprints large and small--plovers and Oystercatchers. I hate that the work trucks destroy this gentle ritual each spring, though the OCs do try to carry on. The piping plovers though are less each year, last year only two nests, down from16 nests in the early 2010s.
On the way home, examining the dune verges, I found pussy willow in bloom. A newcomer to my dunes this year. I hope they grow well and flourish.
No seashells or seaglass due to extreme sand raking by one of the trucks, but my weird objects are emerging from the snow melt and drifted sand.
Looking back: ---Below is a link to one of my first posts back in 2010. Eleven years ago! It got no comments and only a few page views. The next couple posts are similar, with great pics using a telescopic digital camera I used to have. I thought you might enjoy the early unread posts, link is
sorry formatting is wonky on oldest pasts, too much to fix entirely.
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Baby Mo is not well, he has a bad ear infection and is traumatized by his vet visit. I will tuck him in to nap and be off for a short walk on tis windy but pretty day.
Have a great weekend!
love
lizzy
gone to the beach...
Vaccine shot ONE is done, next in 4 weeks. CVS, very efficient, only a short wait. No side effects, except sleepy, more due to all night power outage and worrying than the vax. Six weeks till normal life, hooray! Will the ''you're dead'' nightmares subside? Who knows. [my friend went online every morning for weeks at 5 AM to finally get me an appointment! I am so grateful for his efforts]
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So glad to hear that your friend was able to secure the vaccine appointment for you. Now you can begin to breathe easier. Hope Mo is better real soon.
ReplyDeleteSo glad your friend got you the appt. I know you said you thought it would be several months. Happy for you!
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking us along on the beach walk. Hope Mo feels better soon! Great about getting your vaccine.
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear you finally got your jab and well done to your friend being so diligent on getting you the appt. I had my 2nd one this week and no side-effects, thank heavens.
ReplyDeleteSad to read that because the sands are regularly cleaned (WHY?) the bird nests are destroyed.
The beach cleaning is a mystery to me. They also sift and rake the sand early morning and late evenings in the summer. It does create a pristine beach. The birds do not actually nest or lay eggs till mid April; no one but me seems to be aware of their ritual of making tryout nests and roosting spots by mid March.
DeleteGood news about your vaccination. Thinking of dear Mo and hoping he feels better soon.
ReplyDeleteSo lovely to see your feathered friends return with their magical little tracks. Thank you for the beach walk.
What a lovely walk on your wonderfully deserted beach--those birds are beautiful...pink and orange--only Mother Nature could get away with that combo!:)))
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you got your shot--poor Mo--winds cannot be good for that ear infection either--hoping winds will calm down today...I am going to try a cul-de-sac stroll this morning...sciatica prevents any long walks lately--(bah humbug!!)
Hugs for a lovely weekend...Julierose
That's about as busy as my beach gets until 4th of July,lol.
DeleteCongrats on your shot. Thanks for the walk on the beach. If I can make one small suggestion . . . make sure the horizons are level in your photos. Happy beaching!
ReplyDeleteThank you Tom! I am really struggling with make-do photo editing and I am aware the quality is not good. I do try to level the horizons, sometimes I miss one, like the second? boardwalk photo. Or the correction is imperfect. I will try to improve.
DeleteSo sorry to hear Mo isn't well - hope he recovers quickly!
ReplyDeleteVery happy you have been able to get the first vaccine shot, and I hope you're able to get the second with no issues. I'm hoping to get the single shot version but may have to wait until after surgery, depending on when the supply comes in. Incidences of the virus are dropping off quickly in our area - no current cases at all, which is a hopeful sign!
I wonder why they're so OCD with the sand-cleaning trucks? I would think one or two passes would be plenty, and less catastrophic for the birds! Cool to find pussywillows!
Sorry to hear about Mo..the poor baby Keep us informed on how he is doing. So glad you got your first vaccination. Love your walks down to the water!! The birds you have are so wonderful to see. Watching birds is my favorite thing to do. Why do the trucks comb the sand?? And do they run over the birds? If so, that is terribly sad;(
ReplyDeleteTake care,
Gert
It was nice to take a trip to the beach with you. Glad a few Oystercatchers made their way back. Eeek, sad that the trucks are such a nuisance.
ReplyDeleteHah! What a treat to look back at your FIRST post! How cool is that?
Hope sweet Mo is feeling better.
Hooray for your first vaccination, and am glad you suffered no ill side effects.
Have a good week :)
I love your beach pics! Sorry Mo was ill, I hope he's okay now. Yay on your shot!! I got my second yesterday and so far I only have a sore arm. Have a great week! Kit
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