Homer, Alaska
Excellent workshops and
presentations, fun field trips, great birds and birders, and beautiful weather
resulted in yet another outstanding Homer shorebird festival. The variety of
habitats attracted familiar birds and several species that I don’t often have
the pleasure of viewing in Seward.
The rocky jetty at the Homer
Boat Harbor was an excellent place to watch SURFBIRDS and BLACK TURNSTONES as
they plucked calories from the intertidal zone. Their striking wing patterns
popped as they flew to the next barnacle-encrusted rocks, their reflections
following in the calm water below. The Surfbirds were fun to watch even while
napping, bills tucked under wings, ever aware of the imperceptibly rising tide.
Later, I checked out Louie’s
Lagoon and walked along the beach. Five BRANT walked along across the slough,
feeding at the edge. I heard a Plover calling and looked down the beach. An
elegant male BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER hunted flies and amphipods at the tide’s
edge. I immediately sat down and watched North America’s largest plover.
The Plover approached as a
steady pace, hunting along the way until he was almost right below me. As I
clicked away, he stood quietly then tucked his beak under his wing, folded one
leg into his warm belly feathers, and took a nap. I looked up from my camera and found another male Black-bellied Plover nearby that I had not seen in the
limited view of my lens. He too, was very calm and quiet, and also settled down
for a nap. The first bird continued to nap, slowly rotating on his one leg to
peek around now and then.
When I was done photographing
the second napping male, I looked up and a THIRD Plover had appeared, this time
a female. What a thrill to have these beautiful Plovers so close and so
trusting! Shortly after her arrival, my camera battery went dead and my time
drew to a close.
I carefully and quietly got
up and moved slowly away. I was very pleased to look back and see that the trio
was still napping, undisturbed. Yay! I wish them all the best on the rest of
their journey to their nesting grounds on the dry tundra of the high Arctic. May they and their families prosper and return.
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report
Reporter
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