Seward, Alaska
Two WANDERING TATTLERS and a
pair of WHIMBRELS endured the throngs of fishermen and Memorial Day holiday
crowds who walked past and through their preferred rocky intertidal habitat by
Scheffler Creek.
The Tattlers blended right in
with the rocks and algae, even with their bright yellow legs and constantly
bobbing tails. If one didn’t know they were there, it would be easy to miss
unless they flew and called out.
The Whimbrels however, a much
larger shorebird with a huge, curving bill, should have caught more attention.
But no, people blindly walked past as the wary birds picked and poked through
the wrack. One lucky bird found a Dungeness crab and worked it over pretty
thoroughly behind a rock. I never saw the Whimbrel eat the crab, but it looked
like the gills and back were exposed after some work.
The Cornell website noted
that crab is a primary winter food in many regions. The curved bill easily fits
down a fiddler crab burrow for extraction, and the crab is consumed whole,
sometimes minus the legs.
Today, in the rain, I refound
one Wandering Tattler after a fisherman disturbed it. I wonder why it is still
here, when perhaps it should be nesting up in the mountains near a stream or
pond. Maybe there’s still too much snow.
I did not find the Whimbrels,
and assume they have flown to the tundra farther north to nest. But, given
their excellent camouflage, I may have missed them after all.
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report
Reporter
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