December 5, 1994
Evening, cloudy, 75°F
I took an evening walk along the shoreline, as I’ve done on other occasions as well. I am trying to take frequent beach walks, to take advantage of the ocean while I have it close . . . I do love spending time at the ocean!
After a while, I decided to sit in the sand, and see who would come by as I sat. At one point, I was surrounded by Sanderling, who don’t seem to mind my presence at all. They would often come within about two feet of me as they ran up and back along the shoreline, just above the waterline, foraging for food. Very cute! ☆Laughing Gull☆ were also abundant, and I watched several ☆Cabot’s Tern☆ hunt along the surf line, and they were also part of the a mixed flock that surrounded me when I sat on the beach. That black beak with the yellow tip makes them hard to miss (and easy to identify). I saw a winter-plumage Black-bellied Plover, identified because the Lesser Golden should have been long gone to South America. I also enjoyed watching Atlantic Brown Pelican fly past me in formation. They fly in low over the tops of the dunes, looking very serious. They remind me of Secret Service agents, or maybe Mafia hitmen on a mission.
Of course, there were also a few mystery birds. A possible Swainson’s Hawk: big and chunky with a dark neck. I also saw a bird flying offshore at quite a distance that I suspect was a Northern Gannet. Given the bird’s distance, I’m not certain about ID, but I don’t know what else this bird could have been. I also saw a possible Skua, and a possible Shearwater.
Species List
Sanderling (Calidris alba rubida), Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola), Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla megalopterus), Cabot’s Tern (Thalasseus acuflavidus acuflavidus), Atlantic Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis carolinensis), Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura septentrionalis), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres morinella), Western Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis ibis), possible Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni), possible Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus)
Let me know what you think!