Purple Sandpiper — The Chronicler's Tales

May has been a great month for adding shorebirds to the Filming the Feathers series of videos, as well as adding a photographic record of each bird to the Photography page. So far I've been able to show you solitary, spotted and least sandpipers, and now offer two new birds (for me): the ruddy turnstone and purple sandpipers.

A Ruddy Turnstone in the Rockaways

When I saw this bird rooting around the rocks at the Tribute Park at B 116th Street in the Rockaways, I thought he was a sandpiper. When I checked the photos later, I saw this was a bird I'd not seen before: a ruddy turnstone (Arenaria interpres). These birds are called turnstones because they use their beaks to turn over pebbles and stones to grab insects and crustaceans. The birds nest in the arctic.

*Ruddy turnstone, May 14, Rockaway Tribute Park*

The Filming the Feather video features Mozart's Oboe Quartet in F, K. 370, performed by Storch, Reynolds, Iglitzin and Brennand, and obtained from MusOpen.org, a royalty-free music source.

Another Silly Video by Susan Kirby. Ruddy turnstones (Arenaria interpres) are calico-cat-looking shorebirds that like to turn over rocks and pebbles to get insects and crustaceans (thus their name). This ruddy turnstone was seen on May 14 at the Rockaway Tribute Park.

These photos were all taken on May 14 at Rockaway Tribute Park, near B 116th Street.

Purple Sandpipers on Governors Island

I was able to film purple sandpipers (Calidris maritima) on two visits to Governors Island, on May 12 and 20. (When I returned to Governors Island on May 27, I saw no sandpipers at all.)

*Purple sandpiper, Governors Island, May 20, 2017*

The Filming the Feathers video shows these delightful birds pecking and resting, and getting chased by the waves. The music is by Carl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke.

Another Silly Video by Susan Kirby. These purple sandpipers (Calidris maritima) were filmed on Governors Island, New York, on May 12 and 20, 2017. The shorebirds were dining on the rocks, with a view of the Statue of Liberty, and jumping around whenever a wave hit.

Here are some of the photos I took on May 12 and 20. More can be seen on the purple sandpipers page.