Despite the thousands of families and fishermen on the beach, there were
three nice species nesting right nearby in their protected area: piping
plover (one pair seen), black skimmer (7 at one time in this location),
and numerous least tern.
Overall it was a wader weekend (great egret, snowy egret, little blue
heron, tricolored heron, green heron, black-crowned night heron, glossy
ibis, willet, greater yellowlegs, semipalmated plover, dunlin, ruddy
turnstone, and western sandpipers)
Forster's terns were fishing from standing on a bridge railing lined up
15 feet apart. Three skimmers put on a nice show skimming at close
range in a shallow and open marshy area. Besides the skimmers, perhaps
the most beautiful were the glossy ibis and snowy egrets feeding in a
mixed group.
Three bobwhite were not shy, and a brown thrasher and male chipping
sparrow rounded out the interesting non-waders.
On four legs were the muskrat, raccoon and numerous wild ponies bloated
from feeding on salty marsh grass. On more legs, crabs were plentiful
on the rising tide Sunday evening.
Gary Ender
Bethesda MD |