Monday Motivation

     I woke up and had planned to get out and go birding, but then there was coffee made and my husband making his delicious pancakes. Going out upon waking, just was not my first inclination. Did a little back and forth in my head and did finally decide, I should just go. It's a gorgeous day and it would be silly to not enjoy it.

    I biked down and out to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and what a day to not stay in. It wasn't humid, it was a pleasant temperature, the mosquitoes must have taken the day off, and I even made a friend on my bike ride over, a nice gentleman who chatted with me down the bike path on Cross Bay Boulevard as we leap frogged each other on the Belt Parkway Greenway.

    I was hoping to see some terrapins, but today's heart stopping moments were all about the baby birds.

One thing Jamaica Bay has no shortage of is yellow warblers. They breed there and can be encountered just about everywhere.

Oh, and also gray catbirds, no shortage of them either.
As you can see, they also breed here.

This catbird flew down, practically at my feet, to gather these little roots that it tugged up from the soil.
It was incredibly cute.

Everywhere.

A song sparrow, singing its song. Not as many of these as there are of catbirds and yellow warblers, or so it seems.

I noticed a lot less nest boxes around. The tree swallows use these nest boxes for raising their own family. And I always love seeing their little heads poking out the fronts.

You hear these little fellas just about everywhere, but not so much see them. Got lucky, got to see one! A male common yellowthroat.

This gray catbird was preening and I loved its floofiness. And now I love it's floofiness with the texture of the tree it is on.

I took a gamble on walking through the more forested part of the west pond. Normally here, you get hit with a wall of mosquitoes.
But today I got hit with some fledgling yellow warblers begging their parents for food and a bunch of house wrens learning to fly.
And this house wren fledge was NOT having any of it.

None. Of. It.

Who knew that angry face could be so flippin' cute!?

This female yellow warbler came out and scolded me. I figured she must have babies around so I took a pic and kept moving. I empathize as a constantly stressed out mom.

Took a little trek o the east pond and got some good looks at a muskrat!

This guy just noshed away. I didn't even notice it at first, because I was looking through my binoculars and this little buddy was practically at my feet.

A rodent who like a beaver, lives in the water. Their tail is like flattened rat tail, versus that big flat paddle tail of a beaver. Muskrats are smaller, and just as cute!

So the best part of my day, came when I met this little fledgling yellow warbler.

I went to take its picture and it flew.
At me.
like at my face. Looking to land on my camera/arm.
As it got close it realized it made a very bad choice. As it did an about face in the air, fluttering, like an absolute pro, whooshing all that wind generated by those wings at my face.
I nearly wept, my heart raced.
And the little bird got a huge life lesson about not perching on potential predators/large animals and took a seat up high, keeping me in its sight as it too, likely, was catching its breath.

And then it cried for one of its parents to cater to its needs.

A perfect way to end my little outing, and definitely very memorable.
Godspeed, little nugget!

The Secret Life of Birds

     I have been spending so much time down at the beach doing my plover volunteer work through the NYC Plover Project. I have become so invested in the lives of these birds. I feel like I have been granted a special view into their lives seeing their tenacity, tenderness, and yet, also seeing the harshness that ensues in nature and in the obstacles that are created by the humans who also use the beach, some who are happy to share and others who need a touch more convincing. 

    The birds also have to compete with obstacles due to people when the people are absent, trash which causes dangers to them directly or indirectly by attracting copious natural predators, in a far more concentrated fashion than usual.

    I feel so fortunate to have spent so much time around these little endangered birds and the other birds and wildlife who also share this habitat. It has been magical, and helping people see the value in wildlife and having them empathize with the hardships they face that can be exacerbated by things we think so harmless is very rewarding.

    In just two days, 7 hours total, here is some of what I've seen:

Two American Oystercatchers looking to start a family soon in the dunes.

A quick grab of lunch, an unlucky molecrab for this piping plover.

And then quickly on to the next morsel.

There is nothing more mesmerizing than black skimmers, flying in formation and skimming the water, happy to see these two, part of a group of three.

Always glad to see common terns, this one was taking a proper rest on the sand.

Also taking a proper rest, the piping plovers will all soon have chicks and that's when they really have to be on top of everything all the time.

Looking a little frazzled at that mention of chicks, eh?

This is one of the threats to plover chicks, ghost crabs. Some of them are nearly as big as the adult plovers and by nightfall they are a legitimate worry for chicks.

In this one afternoon, this one nest seemed perfectly in its incubation. But later the birds were acting different, sitting different, nd i noticed an empty egg, next to the adult!

And then, I noticed also, a chick! How new to the world this little one was in this very moment.

And then I noticed one of the adults fluttering relentlessly inside the exclosure, with something in its mouth. It dropped the object that I soon realized was the shell from the hatched egg. Landed, ick up the shell, walked out, and then proceeded with its mission of discarding the eggshell. As to not attract the attention of a potential predator to their home.

A precious opportunity to observe this-- from afar. It is important to note these are taken from a distance to not alert the birds but to allow for proper observation. All photos are taken using a long lens and cropped thereafter,

When I was at the beach, it was one of the least crowded days I have been there, and this long-tailed duck decided loafing on shore was best to do.

Sometimes at the beach, the action isn't just on the land. Sometimes the creatures below give some clue as to what's happening underwater. I enjoyed a pod of bottlenose dolphins swimming along the shoreline with what looks to be a calf or youngster in the middle!

Always super happy to see these creatures!

Speaking of youngsters, this oystercatcher family was with a single chick and the parents keep going no matter what.

One of the parents had only one foot, but it kept up with its chick and kept an eye out for its safety.

Many parts of the beach, most usually parts closest to the dunes are closed off for nesting birds. Much of the beach still remains open for people, but it's up to us to follow the rules and be aware of the birds living here. Like we tell all our little humans, it is important to be a good sharer!

And if you are not a good sharer, the common terns will let you know. By divebombing your face.

As I walked along the beach, in the wrack line I noticed some action. An adult plover feigning injury to divert this oystercatcher only means one thing.

Chicks are nearby.
And if chicks are in the wrack line...

... they are surrounded by trash.
So.
Much.
Trash.

Nearly invisible, if you are not looking for them, you really do risk catching ne underfoot. So many people have no idea how tiny and mobile they are from hours after hatching.

But even though you're moving, there is much to dodge, aside from just the trash that surrounds you.

The trash seems endless, so many of us pick up trash on our monitoring and outreach shifts but the ocean never seems to stop coughing it up. Like a terrible sickness, the trash is just a plague.

Sometimes on the beach you also get some birds that are just not quite like all the others. This roseate tern is a great example. To the untrained eye, they may just look like another tern in the crowd.

But that every slight tinge of rose on their belly, their slender all back bill, silvery back makes them stand out in my eyes. These birds are like the piping plover, are also endangered.

Something that got me super giddy was watching a bottlenose dolphin get right into the fishing action. There were fishing boats, birds, and dolphins fishing in the area and the tail slapping behavior helps to stun fish, making them more easy to capture. It's so wild down at the water, I'm always wondering what will be in store next!

Beach Portraits

     Last week I was doing some things with my camera, while the kiddo was at daycare, tinkering with settings. I left it on the coffee table, enjoying the lack of need to be concerned about grabby hands. Went and picked up the kiddo and within five minutes of being home I heard a thud. Camera on the floor and a look of guilt. Thankfully my lens filter is all that took the hit, tested everything else out and thankfully everything else survived. 

    I have been wanting to get sharper pictures and grab better flight photos of birds or anything that flies and my camera wasn't just getting me what I wanted. So I did some settings, based on what I read here, and, I'm pretty happy with the outcome!

Shorebirds like this Piping Plover make fantastic subjects to take test shots with.

An American Oystercatcher with a blue mussel.

Another excellent photo test subject, I'm excited that protruding beaks are in focus along with the rest of the bird.... and the bubbles.

Yummo!

Settings work for little guys too. A house wren.

This house wren is screaming its song at one of the ex-WWII batteries.

Perfect little beach buddy, these piping plovers.

Dapper as heck, and always looking cool, are black-capped night herons. But They also have a dark side, they can gulp down prey as large as rats. So plovers, chicks, they all have to be on the lookout.

I am very happy with how this happened. TY AMOY.

Alright, time to test the in-flight shots.... and overall, yes.
And an erratic, fast-flying, hunting common tern was the perfect test subject!

I watched a few common terns fly along the surf and grabbing mole crabs up and gulping them down on the wing.

I wish some of the nesting birds took the tern methodology. 
ATTACK EVERYTHING THAT COMES CLOSE TO YOUR EGGS AND BABIES.
That's how they roll.

How does it work out with a bunch of American Oystercatchers being weird?
I think it went well. I like the one on the background on the right. All like, "I don't know these fools."

Screaming and walking in unison.

Taking turns dipping and standing up straight, while screaming.
All looks good.

Piping plovers just pretend to not know those guys. Caught this fella doing some self care, snoozing and preening.

This bird is one I always run into predictable at a specific stretch of beach. I always expect to see them, and almost always do!

I'd say that I'm pleased with these new settings. Looking forward to trying out with other subjects!