Color on the Beach

Look at this face! A yellow eye with an orange orbital ring and an orange bill - stunning! Oh! I do need to mention the pink legs! The American Oystercatcher, Haematopus palliatus, is easy to spot moseying along the beach.


Ummm... Where's my lunch? There's gotta be a a tasy mussel around just under the surface. Ah... maybe even a juicey, tasty oyster just for me.

Slurp!

Florida Sun, Sand and Seagulls

Last Februrary I was in Florida. It was a last minute trip and only for the weekend, but a year later I can easily imagine the warm sun on my skin and the sand between my toes. There is something very special about being with the ocean. Sitting on the beach, feeling the breeze, watching the birds and breathing in the sea air - heaven on earth.

My Florida mission was to fit in as many experiences in to my few precious days as possible. The adventure started before sunrise. I headed for Honeymoon Island State Park and Caladasi Island State Park. I read that Caladasi Island was rated the number 1 beach in America by Dr. Beach and that both beaches were top notch places to look for seashells. I was looking for treasures and I wanted to get there just after daybreak!

While driving to Honeymoon Beach I saw this bird sitting by it's huge nest. I took the photo from my rental car. Can you id this bird? I'm sure it is a common shore bird, but I don't know what it is. If you know, I will appreciate hearing from you.


Also, let me know if I made any mistakes in bird identification anywhere. I might know most of my backyard friends, but shore birds are new to me. Also new was my camera. This was my first outing with my new camera and I had not yet started to blog. If I had known about blogging, I would have known to take a lot of photos - of everything!

I hope you enjoy the photos and a visit to the beach this week!

It makes sense that the first birds I saw as I walked toward the beach were seagulls. This Ringbill reminds me of myself, testing the water one toe at a time! I'm pretty sure this is a young bird living his first winter at the beach.


Okay gull gurus, help me solve this puzzle. Is this a Franklin's Gull or a Laughing Gull, or some other gull, and how the heck can you tell? There is a bit of a red tip on the bill, but don't the bills of both the Franklin and Laughing turn redish-orange?




That's enough for today! It is too stressful trying to figure out who is who and which gull laughs and which one does not! Good night, gulls!