At that time the Piping Plovers were just starting to nest and we found an Audubon Naturalist busy guarding the birds. In the efforts to protect the birds from predators they had laid an extra layer of fencing along the lower edge of the protected area but after some observation the naturalist saw that it was preventing the parents from getting into and out of the enclosure easily, so she decided to remove it.
I have not been back to Reid State Park since June 3rd, so I do not know if this nest was successful. At that time I was still getting use to seeing these Eastern shorebirds, so when I saw the bird below I got all excited because I did not recognize it at first. But when the bird moved and eventually flew away revealing its gorgeous underwings, I knew that I was seeing…
I also saw this gorgeous male Common Eider in the cove and I was thinking I couldn’t wait to show it to Chris Rohrer when he arrived. Little did I know that the males would soon be molting and very hard to find! Once Chris got here all we saw were female Common Eiders with ducklings!
There will be more posts coming soon with further stories of Our Big New England Birding Adventure! Meanwhile, my post is going up on Birding is Fun on August 7th. In other news, I was recently contacted by Metis Birding. They invited me to share my photos and my blog on their Facebook Page starting on Sunday. I encourage you to check it out! And, once again, there is poetry happening at Kathie’s Poet Tree!
Links:
- Birding is Fun
- To All the Birds I Loved Before-my August Birding is Fun Post
- Our Big New England Birding Adventure
- Metis Birding
- Metis Birding Facebook Page
- Kathie’s Poet Tree
Love the deep blue sea and the waders. great that they are protecting the P.Plovers. Love the Eider.
ReplyDeleteThanks Margaret!
DeleteYou are one busy lady! (BTW: You need to edit the link to Metis Birding's FB page. It doesn't work because it also includes this blog's URL.)
ReplyDeleteMarvin, thanks for the head's up! It's fixed! And yes, I am very busy!
DeleteAhh, your post about Reid State Park brings back lots of fond memories. Lovely photos!
ReplyDeleteThanks Karen! I need to go back there. I love that place!
DeleteA wonderful read Kathie and I loved the photos. It does the heart good to know that the nesting plovers were being well taken care of.
ReplyDeleteDenise, yes it does! Such sweet and fragile birds!
DeleteYou certainly get a variety of birds in your new area, and I can imagine how your son from Arizona would enjoy the ocean!
ReplyDeleteHappy wanderer, he really does. I enjoyed my time with him!
DeleteVery nice shot of the male Common Eider. Yeah it was a weird experience only finding the rare molting male. There were two around Eastern Egg Island and the port but they didn't look like that stunning pic. Such a beautiful area to bird. I hope he gets another chance to go again this year or next during fall. That would be very beautiful!
ReplyDeleteChris, I hope you get to come back and at a different time and see more birds! I wish I had taken you to this place! Ah, but the time ran out!
DeleteSpectacular birds, Kathie! The two ocean ducks are phenomenal and Piping Plovers up close - you are spoiled!
ReplyDeleteIt seems like there are a lot of the same birds in Maine and Minnesota, but I think you edged us out with this post. Well done.
Josh, some of the same and some different. We are not getting Blue Grosbeaks here!
DeleteGreat birding Kathie! And thank you for sharing our information with your readers. We are very excited to share your work on our page this week! www.facebook.com/metisbirding
ReplyDeleteThanks for the opportunity Metis Birding!
DeleteI am so happy that you are enjoying all the beautiful shore birds Kathie.
ReplyDelete