Stinson Beach, California--Snowy Plover

An invitation from a friend, a plane ticket, an hour's drive north of San Francisco...

and the next thing I know, I'm hiking among giant redwoods, exploring intriguing beaches, discovering new bird species and enjoying spectacular views of the California coast.  Come with me to Stinson Beach!

On my first morning on the beach, I was presented with a life bird--the Snowy Plover--a captivating little shorebird that forages on terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates on barren beaches along the coast and inland waterways.

Even when I knew these plovers were in the vicinity, it was very hard to spot them unless they were moving. Though they are easy to find in the above image, walking on the beach is a different matter.  Their plumage coloration and broken patterns lends itself to blending right into the sand and shadows as you walk along the beach.  

The juvenile, above and below, left tiny footprints in the moist sand as he headed for a depression caused by an earlier human footprint.  Once he settled in, he became still and "invisible" once again.

The bird below, appears to be a female because of her light color, but it is winter (Feb 17th), even in California, and winter plumage in the plover sexes can sometimes be indistinguishable.  

Notice the leg bands worn by the birds in many of the images.  With the exception of the juvenile above, this group of plovers wore multiple colored bands, some wearing red, green, yellow or blue bands arranged in different combinations on both legs.  The placement and color of the bands helps researchers distinguish individuals and aids in monitoring nesting populations and nesting success.   (The bird above has bands of green over red, while the bird below wears red above.)

Snowy Plovers are either endangered or threatened in areas where they occur largely because of degradation of habitat and encroachment by expanding development. Humans and dogs frequently disturb nesting and foraging birds on beaches that are heavily used for recreation.

In fact, the online edition of the Birds of North American on the Snowy Plover published in 2009, describes studies showing that Snowy Plovers are 16 times more likely to be disturbed on a public beach than a protected beach.

In one study, on average, each plover was disturbed every 27 minutes on weekends and every 45 minutes on week days. Feeding rates decreased with human activity and disturbance was noted when humans were within 43 yards of the bird. The birds are disturbed by the presence of dogs at an even greater distance.

In the next several images, plovers in the small group stretch their wings and legs...

preen...

and probe the sand at the base of a low growing plant in search of invertebrates.

These behaviors give the impression that disturbance is minimal, which is what I hope for. I am using a 400 mm lens while lying stationery on the beach and the images I have posted here are cropped, making the subjects appear closer than they were in the moment. As you look at some of the images, however, you will notice that in several of them, the bird is looking at the camera. When a wildlife subject is looking at you, you have disturbed it.     

I thanked them for our short visit, wished them many seasons of successful nesting, and said goodbye to some of the sweetest little shorebirds ever!  

Next:  The rest of my first day at Stinson Beach--the Dipsea Trail.

Links and resources:

Cornell on the Snowy Plover

For more about the camouflage qualilties of bird plumage visit The Hermit Thrush and Willow Ptarmigans in Denali
Stinson Beach, CA

Birds of North America

Tennessee Conservationist Magazine--A Nest Box Surprise: Prothonotary Warblers

Spring is on its way--at least we all hope so.  With spring comes nesting season.  Nest boxes are already being investigated by cavity nesters in Tennessee, but sometimes the bird that chooses your yard's nest box is not the one you expected!

    Photo credit:  Cyndi Routledge                 Pronthonotary Warbler 

This was the case with Cyndi and Steve Routledge in Clarksville, TN, during the 2012 nesting season when a pair of Prothonotary Warblers selected their nest box for raising young.  Their experiences with these bright yellow cavity nesters is described in the March/April issue of the Tennessee Conservationist Magazine. Cyndi and I co-authored the text, but the story comes from Cyndi's many hours of observation and her beautiful photographs illustrate the article's pages.

The Routledges' nest box is located in a suburban yard surrounded by woods with natural cavities created by woodpeckers, but the warblers chose a nest box right off the Routledges' front porch, farther from a natural water source than is generally expected for this species. The article's story describes Cyndi's reactions and experiences as she watched the nesting process, protecting the warbler family from competing House Wrens and even from a snake that caused alarm among all the nesting birds in her yard.

Cyndi was able to keep a vigilant watch over the nestlings and their parents, witnessing many significant events, including watching the nestlings fledge.

Prothonotary Warblers must compete with other secondary cavity nesters for nesting sites and the species shows population declines due to loss of wetland habitat and fewer available natural cavities. It is always special to have cavity nesting birds select your yard during the breeding season, but a pair of Prothonotary Warblers would add extra excitement to most any bird lover's nest box.

A special thank you to Louise Zepp, editor of the award-winning Tennessee Conservationist Magazine, and her staff for the beautiful layout of this article and for highlighting the article on the magazine's website.

Cyndi Routledge is a Tennessee Master Naturalist, photographer, avid birder and member of the Tennessee Ornithological Society and the Warioto Audubon Chapter.

Links and Resources:

Tennessee Conservation Magazine
Cornell on the Prothonotary Warbler
Other Tennessee Conservationist articles on this blog

Piece-by-Piece--Hiking Knoxville's Urban Wilderness Trail

Piece-by-Piece is the name of a series of hikes scheduled monthly by Ijams Nature Center, and led by naturalist, Stephen Lyn Bales.  These hikes will traverse the South Loop of Knoxville's Urban Wilderness Trail in 2-3 mile sections.  

Saturday, Feb 8th included the Ross Marble Quarry Natural Area, an area of natural limestone deposits, quarried by the Ross Marble Company beginning in 1881.  The area is an interesting combination of large quarried limestone block, some stacked into towering walls, and nature's gradual reclaiming of the area.  The marble produced here was not true marble but a crystalline limestone that polished easily and had an attractive pinkish-gray appearance.  It became known as Tennessee Marble and has been highly favored for use in buildings and monuments in Tennessee, New York and Washington. DC.

Above, an area of slag deposits, the "ashes" created from a lime kiln used to convert broken chunks of limestone into agricultural lime powder.  As the slag area is reclaimed by nature, it supports cedars that favor its alkaline quality.  

As we reached the trail end in the Hayworth Hollow area, we were surrounded by towering stacks of limestone rock.  Large chunks of limestone that were not used for marble were stacked into these enormous walls. The reddish coloration seen in some of the blocks is caused by iron oxide which leaves a rust-like stain.

A system of caves runs under the limestone deposits in this area and provides habitat for the endangered Berry Cave Salamander (Gyrinophylus gulolineatus).  Several species of bats are also known to roost in these caves which are gated to protect wildlife.

Lyn, a master naturalist, turned over some leaves in the pond to demonstrate how you can generally find salamanders and recognize salamander eggs during breeding season.  A talented story teller and author of two books and numerous articles, he shared some tales of frogs and salamanders from his years growing up in the Smoky Mountains.

Further down the trail we explored the Keyhole "wall" at the Ross Marble Quarry, below.  At the top of the wall you can see railing that was installed to offer a safe crossing as you continue on the trail. 

The limestone desposits that included the prized industrial grade limestone sold as Tennessee marble in the area are part of the underlying Holston Formation that passes through the 300-acre Ijams property.  

You can walk through the keyhole to explore the other side.  The images immediately above and below were taken at a different time of year and show the proportional size of the keyhole feature.

On our return to the trail head, we hiked along the ridge with a distant view of the Smokies on one side and blocks of limestone on the other.  

Links and Resources:

Tennessee Marble
Ijams Nature Center
Stephen Lyn Bales--Nature Calling
Marble Quarry Map
Piece-by-Piece--Urban Wilderness South Loop
Knoxville's Urban Wilderness
Legacy Parks Foundation--Knoxville's Urban Wilderness hike descriptions with trail maps
More about geological features of the area:  Ottosee shale to Lenoir limestone

Pileated Woodpeckers in the Snow

Pileated woodpeckers are delightful birds to watch and it is an extraordinary experience to observe one at eye-level and have it linger for a while.

On January 28th, during a beautiful snow fall, I first heard, then located, two pileated woodpeckers foraging around the yard, visiting old growth trees both in the yard and its wooded edges.  It was 19 degrees F, COLD and windy.  

Above, you see the female (top) and the male below her after she briefly landed on the same tree and they foraged together for a few minutes.  Below, the male as he looks up from foraging.  This bird's woodpecker movements are jerky, alert, ever scanning the environment and checking movement above and below, even though they sometimes ignore humans.  Among their predators are Cooper's Hawks and the Great-horned owl.

I finally retreated inside because I was so cold and my view was obscured by other trunks and limbs. Within 30 minutes, as I stood looking out the window at the snow and feeder birds, I saw the female as she landed on a tree at the edge of the patio.  This is the sort of opportunity that calls for grabbing a coat and camera and maneuvering out the door as carefully as possible.

Above is a photo of her farther out in the yard.  Notice how she has her tummy feathers fluffed with air protecting her legs from the cold and adding to her overall warmth.  She has a very young face and I suspect that she is the male's offspring rather than his mate.  I have seen this family together in April in seasons past as they begin their breeding season.

I opened the door and was very surprised that she ignored me and continued with her foraging.  Clearly she was finding something of interest. I was torn between zooming to get close images, or pulling back to get her whole body in.  I adore seeing the expression on her face, but also like the image below that shows that long sturdy tail-brace, so important in her movement and balance.

Below you can see her tongue as she probes under the bark. Woodpeckers have sticky, barbed tongues that help retrieve the insects that are hidden in crevices and underneath the bark.

Communication among family members is as facinating as watching these woodpeckers scoot up a tree, as they periodically stop to probe, pound, and extract insects.  The bugle-like call can be heard on the Cornell All About Birds site (link below) and is their most famous and loudest call.

There are also more intimate calls that specifically occur when family members are together, most often attributed to mates, but also heard when juveniles are foraging with parents.  On this occasion, I only heard the bugle call and occasionally the "kuk-kuk-kuk" sequence.

The habitat here is old growth forest with decaying trees in a suburban area where home development is interrupted by undeveloped wooded slopes.  These are the kind of broken zones that support many woodpecker species and allow people and wildlife to peacefully co-exist together.

The winter months are exceptional woodpecker-viewing months in east Tennessee.  Woodpeckers are easily spotted on bare trunks and tree limbs.  They are busy foraging to keep warm and sustain their nutritional needs.  Some woodpeckers from the mountains come down to the Tennessee Valley to spend the winter, among them the yellow-bellied sapsucker.

Above, a male yellow-bellied sapsucker forages in the yard at the same time the pileated family was present. Below, the male pileated woodpecker among large decaying limbs.

Images were taken with a Canon Rebel T2i with 100-400 Canon zoom lens.

Links and Resources:

More pileated woodpecker family posts on this blog.
Cornell All About Birds--Pileated Woodpecker.  Be sure to listen to the calls.
Cornell on Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.  Be sure to also listen to this sapsucker's call.  He blends with tree bark so well, that the call will likely be how you learn of his presence.