More Little Shorebirds

The semipalmated plovers have been delighting me all summer and fall. I have seen them in the Bronx (Orchard Beach), Staten Island (the beaches at Mount Loretto and Wolfe's Pond) and Queens (Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and Broad Channel American Park). They are talkative little birds, and when I saw flocks of them at Broad Channel, they were really peeping up a storm (you can listen to their calls on the Audubon site). The "semipalmated" part of their name refers to the partial webbing between their toes. 

Semipalmated plovers at Broad Channel American Park, August 28, 2017

Orchard Beach, September 20

Broad Channel, August 28

These little shorebirds eat insects that they dig for in the mud and sand on the shorelines. They are distinguished from killdeer by their single dark band across the chest (the killdeer have two bands). They have short black bills with an orange base.

They have been such fun to photograph, and these photos range from June 1 to October 4.

Whatever You Say, Willet!

A willet (Tringa semipalmata) joined about a hundred ruddy turnstones on June 1 on a pier at Broad Channel Park in Jamaica Bay and gave them all a talking-to. I'm not sure what this large shorebird was saying to the smaller shorebirds, but the bird was very loud! I filmed the willet for a couple of minutes, and I present the lecture in my most recent Filming the Feathers video.

A willet with ruddy turnstones, June 1, Broad Channel Park, Jamaica Bay.

I added a little music at the end of this short video, because the willet seemed to need a little accompaniment. As you will see, the turnstones weren't all that impressed. Soon after this video, the willet and the turnstones took off (the nearby osprey stayed a while longer).

I enjoyed photographing the willet, even though most of my shots show an open mouth!