Saturday was such a beautiful day and we happened to be at the condo for a spring clean-up which thankfully didn't take that long. So HWNSNBP and I took a ride to LBI and out to the lighthouse and I was determined to give it my all to walk the 1/4 mile out to the ocean and back. On the way we encountered this pair.
Are they coming or going?
And this gentleman came shushing up alongside me and I do me shushing his boots along the sand so much so that I really found it annoying and stopped so he could get well past us.
Once we made it to the ocean, HWNSNBP put out the beach towel for me to sit a spell and he did some more shelling.
I motioned to him to walk towards the seagulls that had gathered around him to catch them in flight. I'm pretty sure they thought that he had something to share with them in the plastic bag that he was carrying, but they were wrong.
Walking the 1/4 mile back - a view of the lighthouse and I think you can barely make out those fence posts on the beach.
There is a large area cordoned off for the Plovers to nest undisturbed. This sign is on one of the posts to educate those that are visiting of the plight of the plover.
We were lucky enough to actually spot two of them on the way back. It was low tide and there was no water on the beach side of the jetty making it pretty easy to walk in the wet compacted sand. Still, these little birds are very quick and small and blend in very well with the surroundings.
Besides the dark ring around their neck, another feature that distinguishes them is the fact that they only have 3 toes that all face forward and no back toe. We stood in one place and they circled around us stopping once or twice and softly calling to one another.
Once we got back on the concrete walkway, we noticed this guy on the rocks. Just look at those long toes!
This was the first time in almost three years (or is it just two?) that I was actually able to walk the beach and do some shelling (but don't tell my doctor). My neck is still bothering me, but I was determined to not to let it deter me and I was very careful bending down to pick up some treasures.
I'm sure you must have so enjoyed that walk, but I'm glad to hear you were careful. It's rotten that you're so restricted just now. I loved all the photos, I could almost smell the salty tang and hear the waves as I went through them twice. I was going to say there was a plover conservation near here, but in fact when I checked, it's terns. But I know there are plovers in the same area. I didn't know that about their toes - thank you for educating me. Now I need to go back and look at the sand tracks of what we thought was a plover in Corfu a couple of years ago!!
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for what I'm keeping as a surprise till tomorrow!!
back & neck notwithstanding OF COURSE you have to go shelling whilst at the beach!!! totally jealous you got to see plovers!!! i had heard they were coming back, that is cool. i'm always pretty psyched to see an egret (or a heron?) as well; tho as you've noticed... i'm never sure which is which! glad you had nice weather for the excursion! :)
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