Tag Archives: shore birds

A Contradiction? SOL22 Day 26

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One of the things I love about walking on the beach is that it is forever different and always fascinating. Today was gray with a pretty thick marine layers covering the coast. I love low tides when the reef is exposed, the beach is wide, and if I’m lucky there will be more shore birds and other sea creatures visible.

Today it was the tiny sandpipers that caught my eye. They gather in groups, perhaps safety in numbers, and move in unison. I crept close today (they spook easily) and waited and watched with my camera at the ready. Their coloring helps them camouflage with the reef, making it hard to get great photos.

So many birds stand on one leg…and this one is a perfect example. I’m guessing it’s a way to rest. I know when I am standing a lot (like every day teaching), I find myself standing one one leg or resting one foot on the other.

As I was thinking about these birds that run and fly in perfect synch–their little feet almost like perpetual motion machines–I was also wondering about their collective noun. What is a group of sandpipers called? With a question like this, I did the usual and turned to Google. There I learned there are a number of names for a group of sandpipers including a contradiction, a fling, a hill, and even a time-step! Where do these names come from…and why? A contradiction?

If I were to choose from these nouns, I would definitely go with time-step. I love to watch their little legs move in a blur of constant motion and in perfect step with each other–definitely a time-step!

And…I was lucky enough to catch this guy mid leap! Notice the little drip of water from the tiny bird foot raised above the ground.

It’s fun to leave the beach wondering and thinking. No two days are alike and every day gets me thinking. Where do you go to think and wonder? (And maybe even walk and photograph)

In Search of Light: SOLC Day 3

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I heard the warning on the morning news show, yesterday’s rains caused urban runoff and increased bacteria count in our ocean waters.  Stay out of the water.  We still headed off to the beach for a low tide walk…in our tennies.

The clouds were heavier than I expected with no rain in today’s forecast–and much darker too.  We actually felt misty drizzle as we first got into the car.  But the beach was beautiful: low tides, gentle breezes, and yes, some people in the water!  Beach people are interesting and they come in all forms.  There are walkers and beach combers like Geoff, scanning the shore for bits of glass and interesting marine tidbits and picking up the many plastics that litter the beach.  There are surfers who seem to never heed warnings about the water.  And there are swimmers and waders, teenaged football throwers, the guy with the metal detector, the fishers knee deep in the waves as they cast.  But for me, my eyes search the beach for that perfect picture.

Gray skies make photo taking more challenging.  Colors fade away, making things look flat.  I’m no expert with camera settings, so I depend on my own framing and the serendipity of light and shadow to create interesting images.  I try to pay attention to changes in light…and always find myself drawn to shore birds.

As I wandered down the beach,  I spied a whimbrel (I think) out for a snack.  I crept close, snapping photos as I went.  But I also took a few long shots, noticing a break in the clouds and the white of the foamy wave tops creating a bright spot as a backdrop for the bird. Experts might call my photo overexposed, but there is something I like about this burst of light and the tiny bird visible in the expanse of the wide open beach.

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Gray skies and high bacteria count didn’t keep me home and it certainly didn’t keep this little guy out of the water!  I got to stretch my legs and my camera skills to snap at least a few photos that were interesting.  And I got to enjoy the beach along with all the other beach people today.