Tag Archives: shorebirds

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Rozanne Rapozo found these two birds flying together and hanging out on the beach together. She dubbed them "Best Friends."

The Whimbrel is facing left, with its long downward curving beak. Whimbrels are migrating southward now. This shorebird has a piping call that you can listen to at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Whimbrel/sounds

Look at the Marbled Godwit's beak - it's two-toned, very long and slightly turns up. This shorebird might spend the winter here on the Mendonoma Coast. They have a very funny call that made me laugh when I heard it - it almost sounds like these birds are laughing...and perhaps they are! https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Marbled_Godwit/sounds

Here is a photo of these two birds in flight, with another bird, perhaps a Sandpiper, in the distance.

Thanks to Rozanne for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

We had sprinkles overnight but the clouds are now gone, and it's a beautiful autumn day here on the Mendondoma Coast. The forecast is for sunny and warmer temps next week. Head for the coast!

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Ron Bolander used the new Merlin bird ID app to try and identify a shorebird but it steered him wrong. Ron wrote, “While I was on the beach, mid Tuesday afternoon, I got some pictures, that "Merlin" identified as Semipalmated Sandpipers.  Checking on the Cornell site for information, these are not supposed to be here.  They migrate from the Arctic to South America, but the migration is east of the Rocky Mountains.”

I sent Ron’s photos to Diane Hichwa, who in turn sent them to a shorebird expert, Lisa Hug, who wrote, “It is a Least Sandpiper - yellowish legs, dark streaking on chest.” Diane commented, “Shorebirds are SELDOM easy, and in transitions from breeding plumage to winter plumage, they are even more challenging.”

Ron also photographed a Western Sandpiper.

Such beautiful birds plying our beaches! Thanks to Ron for allowing me to share his photos with you here.

The weather is changing! We actually have some rain headed our way beginning Saturday evening.  Today it is windy and mild. It feels very good to know rain is in our near future!

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Western Sandpipers have migrated into our area and photographer Ron Bolander was there with his camera as a flock of five or perhaps six took wing.

Western Sandpipers are shorebirds that nest way up in the Arctic. Some of them will overwinter on the Mendonoma Coast. Fun Fact: females are generally bigger than the males and they have longer beaks.

If you'd like to listen to their calls, you can do so at this link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Western_Sandpiper/sounds

Thanks to Ron for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

oh my, we are so thankful an early storm from the north arrived yesterday, Saturday. Our rain gauge showed a little over 1.5 inches of the blessed wet stuff.

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Manchester Beach is a coast treasure with five miles of sandy beach. Anne Mary Schaefer recently photographed a sunset there with a flock of shorebirds in the foreground.

To learn more about Manchester State Park, here is their website: https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=437

Thanks to Anne Mary for allowing me to share her photo with you here. To see Anne Mary's Pawpawrazzi Pet Photography website, here is the link: http://www.pawpawrazzipetphotography.com/