Ruddy Turnstones

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barnegat lighthouse, photography, postaday, ruddy turnstone

I took the following photos of Ruddy Turnstones in January of this year near the Barnegat Lighthouse, but only now have I found the time to post them here.

Several groups of these birds were congregating on rocks covered with seaweed. Some slept, others were starting to look for food, but none cared the least about a photographer getting right above them. The early sun was shining bright, making it appear as if I was using a flash.

Ruddy Turnstones on top of seaweed.

Ruddy Turnstones, with one apparently yawning.

Ruddy Turnstone drill sergeant: “Up, everybody up!”

Ruddy Turnstone looking for something to eat.

Ruddy Turnstone looking for food.

Ruddy Turnstone pulling up seaweed.

Ruddy Turnstone Scrape

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barnegat lighthouse state park, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postaday, ruddy turnstone

Ruddy Turnstones are fairly common on the New Jersey shore. I have been seeing them since this Spring. Wearing their breeding colors, they are easy to spot on the jetty at Barnegat Lighthouse State Park.

Ruddy Turnstones. The one on the left was apparently resting.

Ruddy Turnstone.

Ruddy Turnstone.

In flight they look stunning.

Ruddy Turnstones in flight.

Last week at the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, many birds covered a small island in the marshes. Scanning the island through my camera’s viewfinder, at one point I saw sand being thrown upward by tiny feet. After a few minutes, it turned out that it was a Ruddy Turnstone making a perfectly round scrape as a nest site.

Scrape made by Ruddy Turnstone.

All You Can Eat

Tags

photography, postaday, red-breasted merganser, ruddy turnstone

Like many of us, shore birds or ducks like to eat and are often busy fishing or foraging for food. Two days ago, I saw quite a few Red-breasted Merganser swimming and diving along the Barnegat Lighthouse jetty. A female Merganser was particularly energetic in her diving and was eventually rewarded with a good catch.

Red-breasted Merganser caught a fish.

Red-breasted Merganser eating fish.

Meanwhile, on the jetty rocks some Ruddy Turnstones were having an all-you-can-eat buffet. These birds don’t go in the water much and prefer to remain on shore where they sometimes can find actual smorgasbords.

Ruddy Turnstones.

Ruddy Turnstone picking at oysters.

Ruddy Turnstone.

Shore Birds

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photography, postaday, ruddy turnstone, sanderling, semipalmated plover

Last week, I saw shore birds keeping their distance from the waves and coming in calmer waters behind the jetty at Barnegat Lighthouse. They were looking for food as usual, but perhaps with more urgency than on calmer days. Thus occupied, they allowed me to come close to them without flying away.

Sanderling behind the jetty at Barnegat Lighthouse.

Sanderlings are well known for running in groups along the surf . This one below was running by itself, but not for very long.

Sanderling.

Sanderling.

Ruddy Turnstone in non-breeding colors.

Ruddy Turnstone: getting ready to turn a stone?

There was also a group of Semipalmated Plovers basking in the sun, not doing much of anything, with some sleeping on one foot.

Semipalmated Plover.

Monday Monochrome

Tags

dunlin, fortescue, horsehoe crab, monochrome, photography, postaday, ruddy turnstone

Here are some monochrome photos to highlight this Horseshoe Crab season. Currently, the populations of Horseshoe Crabs, as well as of the birds that eat their eggs, Red Knots, Dunlins, Semipalmated Sandpiper, and Ruddy Turnstone, are all supposed to be in decline. There is no single cause and probably many unknowns as well.

Female Horseshoe Crab, its outer shell encrusted with sea snails and other sea shells. She was trying to shelter under a bridge over Oyster Creek at Fortescue, NJ.

Dunlins eating Horseshoe Crab eggs. They must have found a food spot!

A good scratch: Ruddy Turnstone between feedings on Forstescue beach.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Wet

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barnegat jetty, Cee's Fun Foto Challenge, photography, postaday, ruddy turnstone

The link for Cee’s challenge is: http://ceenphotography.com/2016/02/29/cees-fun-foto-challenge-things-that-are-wet/

A flock of Ruddy Turnstones was basking in the sun at the Barnegat Lighthouse jetty at the northern tip of Long Beach Island in New Jersey.  I took a few pictures of them, and of one in particular that was shaking off water perhaps coming from a wave that got too close.

A female Ruddy Turnstone with a few drops of water on her back.

Suddenly, she twirled her head, sending water in a spiral around her head. You need to click on the image to view it in full size and see the spiral of water droplets.

All done, no more wetness in less than a second.

Shore Birds

Tags

dowitcher, dunlin, edwin b forstythe national wildlife refuge, oystercatcher, photography, postaday, ruddy turnstone

I took the following photos of these beautiful shore birds at the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in May of this year, but somehow never got around to post them here. Better late than never, so here they are.

Ruddy Turnstone

Dunlin

Short-billed Dowitcher

Oystercatcher: standing on one leg while scratching with the other.