Bike, Brunch, Bird!

     Friday was a great day, I finally spent a day that was truly for myself, and I didn't feel bad at all about that. While we still have much to do in our home, I found value yesterday in doing all the things I love and spending today at home with Tim and being the caulk removal and replacing champion.

     I got out early, hopped on my bike and birded Calvert Vaux park, great surprises included a royal tern flyover and a Blue Grosbeak. After that, I rode to Bay Ridge and had a delicious breakfast/Brunch with my friend whom I used to work with, it was really lovely to hang and chat. After that, I figured the tide was going down so I biked back, spied things along the Shore Road Greenway, and stopped off at Plumb Beach.

Enjoyed some butterflies in Calvert Vaux park, I was sad to note that where there once was a huge field of black-eyed susans is now just mowed. This cabbage white enjoyed a dandelion.

Among the wrecks were herons, Yellow-crowned Night herons (this bird), black-crowned night herons green heron, and great blue herons. Was hoping for a little blue but didn't spy any.

An unexpected surprise, a blue grosbeak- was totally singing and how I found him. Then a house sparrow moved in and chased him off.

Monarchs timed perfectly with blooming milkweed plants. Just noticed the monarchs this past week, it's good to have them back!

A song sparrow belts out a tune.

A non-breeding/Juvenile plumed spotted sandpiper.

An in breeding plumage spotted sandpiper.

On my bike ride back east, I stopped to admire some common terns. It was this time last year I had just returned from Great Gull Island  spending a whole week with these marvelous birds. I love terns a heck of a lot more after that time, so I stop to admire them, especially when they are still- which is not a very common sight apart from their nesting colonies. 

What a dapper little bird.

My favorie part about these birds is the variety of vocalizations they make, from the sounds of attacking their foes, to the sounds they make with their young, to their mate, and among the colony. It's pretty amazing.

So, yeah. I like terns.

At Plumb Beach I saw a flock of 18 Least Terns, our smallest tern. They were super cute and they sound like squeaky toys. I watched this one bathe, while others came in with food, interacted with one another, or preened.

This individual is preening, they are super great contortionists to get all the feathers.

The gland that excretes oil for preening is located right on their rump.

Preening keeps the feathers waterproof, in good shape and therefore helping the bird be able to fly, stay warm, and stay dry.

Two birds displaying and calling to one another.

When birds come in with fish, as this one did, sometimes they are chased by other individuals trying to get an easy meal. Often you see bird fly in with a fish and they feed it to another-- presumably a mate, or potential mate.

Want to play guess that meal?
My guess is this great black-backed gull has an American eel.

I walked through the marsh at Plumb and mostly only found fiddler crabs. Lots of them. I even heard them scurrying over the mussel beds and grasses.

This yellow-crowned night heron probably had a good laugh as I did manage to sink into the marsh above the knees, lost a sandal, pulled it out, lost my other sandal, pulled that out and scurried far less gracefully than a fiddler crab to more solid ground.
I ended my day with a pedicure, because peat under your nails is just not a good look. I am looking forward to another adventure soon with I am hoping more shorebirds!

And speaking of terns and Great Gull, this Tuesday, July 17th, Brooklyn Bird Club has a special presentation- a screening of "Young of the Year," a short documentary by Kris Holodak about Roseate Terns and their first summer before their long migration to South America. Come join us! Learn more here.