This weekend I helped one of my friends out with the annual waterfowl count. Their patch to survey is the Coney Island to Brighton Beach waterfront. Things started off fairly slow, but as we moved east along the beach, things picked up. Also, bonus, everything ended with delicious borscht and Russian food in Brighton Beach..
I mostly took pictures of everything that does not count as waterfowl...
But even if it isn't waterfowl, we still stopped and took a look. Because, if you don't stop and look, you might miss that very subtle purple sheen on those wings. Purple sandpipers never turn their backs to the sea.
Well, they do, plenty.
But they are touch, living upon rocks in the surf, they power through some big splashes!Salty spray sparkle makes a purple sandpiper look absolutely fab. While we saw plenty of Bonaparte's gulls offshore, this one was right at the shore. Gave some nice opportunity to see one close and floating along the waves. These dainty little gulls have black heads when in their breeding plumage, so in the winter, they just have a little ear patch. My favorite thing about these gulls is that when they feed while flying, they faceplant into the water. With grace.
They also look lovely with the waves crashing behind them.Another treat and also not waterfowl, had a few close views of normally further off-shore northern gannets.
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