bs kite wrote:
Please read the last few sentences of this post first, before returning to the top of the post.
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Thanks Morris. The bokeh in that open beach head is terrific. I envy your situation. To your credit, the light and color of these images is perfect.
I am looking forward to your observations of the entire process to their first flight.
I hope you count the days from this mating until she lays. Maybe you have in the past. I know you have observed these Oystercatchers for years. They are colonial nesters (right?) so, will those two bands be enough for you to ID that specific female?
The reason I ask is because I have seen my loons mate just twice (once in 2 different years) but I failed to count the days to egg depositing. The nest-site selection and building is not started until after mating and there seems to be an urgency in her. If I see a loon pair mate this year, I will count the days. We know that mating is quick and it happens just once. I still do not know how many days for the eggs to develop in the female loon. I just did a quick search and I guess the process of egg development. in the female is called oogenesis. We know that incubation periods are publicized for bird species (for loons it is 26-29 days) but not the period of development in the female.
Always curious about nature. Man’s politics, warring and man’s destruction of nature anger me. It is disgusting and shameful. And we all see it getting much worse here and worldwide. I am quite sure that America’s current administration will eventually attempt to take our national parks from us and sell them to the rich. Ain’t going to happen!!
I don't visit Nickerson Beach every day so I can't provide an exact number of days between mating and laying eggs. Not only that, the oyster catchers will mate repeatedly for the next few weeks and that would make it impossible to know when fertilization happened.
I agree with you that some of the things that man dose to nature is horrific and the current US administration is not going to help protect our planet or it's inhabitants. I don't want to stay all gloomy here and will post some positive things. I've been to a few privately owned and operated parks that were wonderful. There are small day access fees and they are well maintained. One in Pennsylvania that I'm thinking of right now has a large waterfall in the woods and birds and wildlife flourish there. Would privatizing the maintenance of a publicly owned park work, I don't know if lowest bidder is the best idea. A lot would have to do with the contract and how well it's inforced.
Nickerson Beach is a fascinating example of man taking care of a fragile environment. The beach is a public bathing beach with wonder facilities including a pool, campground, picknick area, cabanas, playgrounds, a dog run and others. At the same time the dunes are off grounds from people and areas of the sandy beach are fenced off and these are the places the colonies nest. If a bird happens to nest on the bathing area, a 10x10 foot area around it is fenced off. This well maintained beach has operated like this for years and the birds are flourishing with one exception which is the piping plover. It's feral cats that are killing them off. Besides the american oyster catchers which number in the dozens, about 150 black skimmers nest on the beach each year and are members of 3 colonies. Thousands of common terns and foresters terns nest there as well and all these birds are what draws photographers from around the world to Nickerson Beach. The beach is a New York State protected bird nesting area and is operated by the Incorporated Townships of Hempstead. Besides all of the maintenance people and lifeguards as well as seasonal concession operators, they have naturalists that look after the area ensuring that the signage is in good shape, and that the fencing is maintained. Beach patrols enforce the no enter areas. If a small town with a limited budget can make this work, then I see no reason that man can't do this everywhere.
Note that there are large sections of the Long Island shore line and associated barrier islands that are designated bird nesting areas by NYS. Only emergency stopping is permitted on roadways that pass through them and the beaches are posted no landing areas for boats. Enforcement can't keep up during the summer yet plenty of people get ticketed and fined.
I don't visit Nickerson Beach every day so I can't provide an exact number of days between mating and laying eggs. Not only that, the oyster catchers will mate repeatedly for the next few weeks and that would make it impossible to know when fertilization happened.
I agree with you that some of the things that man dose to nature is horrific and the current US administration is not going to help protect our planet or it's inhabitants. I don't want to stay all gloomy here and will post some positive things. I've been to a few privately owned and operated parks that were wonderful. There are small day access fees and they are well maintained. One in Pennsylvania that I'm thinking of right now has a large waterfall in the woods and birds and wildlife flourish there. Would privatizing the maintenance of a publicly owned park work, I don't know if lowest bidder is the best idea. A lot would have to do with the contract and how well it's inforced.
Nickerson Beach is a fascinating example of man taking care of a fragile environment. The beach is a public bathing beach with wonder facilities including a pool, campground, picknick area, cabanas, playgrounds, a dog run and others. At the same time the dunes are off grounds from people and areas of the sandy beach are fenced off and these are the places the colonies nest. If a bird happens to nest on the bathing area, a 10x10 foot area around it is fenced off. This well maintained beach has operated like this for years and the birds are flourishing with one exception which is the piping plover. It's feral cats that are killing them off. Besides the american oyster catchers which number in the dozens, about 150 black skimmers nest on the beach each year and are members of 3 colonies. Thousands of common terns and foresters terns nest there as well and all these birds are what draws photographers from around the world to Nickerson Beach. The beach is a New York State protected bird nesting area and is operated by the Incorporated Townships of Hempstead. Besides all of the maintenance people and lifeguards as well as seasonal concession operators, they have naturalists that look after the area ensuring that the signage is in good shape, and that the fencing is maintained. Beach patrols enforce the no enter areas. If a small town with a limited budget can make this work, then I see no reason that man can't do this everywhere.
Note that there are large sections of the Long Island shore line and associated barrier islands that are designated bird nesting areas by NYS. Only emergency stopping is permitted on roadways that pass through them and the beaches are posted no landing areas for boats. Enforcement can't keep up during the summer yet plenty of people get ticketed and fined.
I did not know. that Oystercatchers mate repeatedly over a period of weeks. The Common loons I observe do not. They are territorial nesters (not colonial) and when the season starts I have watched them every day to every other day for over a decade.
We have the same protection strategies here on Maine beaches for shore-nesting birds (shorebirds). And the problems are the same here as there.... just not as intense because the human density is less here. Dogs must be managed and night predators can be devastating. I like what they do in New Zealand to protect their shorebirds. They have formed volunteer groups to monitor the nest areas *throughout the night for cats and rats*. It works.
I stand by my closing comments on man, politics, warring and the like. I have worked in this field my entire life and I have seen things change a lot. But yes, we who love nature are also becoming more resolute at protecting what is left of nature.
Today (IMO) the most effective environmental/wildlife protection organization has come to be.....the Center for Biological Diversity.
This link will be a start for anyone interested in learning about CBD. The reasons for its effectiveness are too long for me to get into here
That time of the year in the bird world, well captured.
Speaking of that time of the year, millions of birds will be on the move this weekend!
Did you know, most birds migrate at night between the hours of 11pm - 6am? Step outside after dusk, and you might hear them overhead!📢
Birds like warblers, thrushes, and tanagers migrate at night to:
✅ Avoid predators like hawks
✅ Take advantage of calmer, cooler air
✅ Use celestial cues to navigate flyways
You can help birds migrate safely by:
🌃Turning off unnecessary outdoor lights
🪟Making glass windows visible to prevent collisions
🏠Closing blinds at night to reduce light spill
🌿Creating safe stopover habitat in your yard
🔗 Check your local forecast and live radar maps at birdcast.info!
📷 BirdCast map courtesy of Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Colorado State University
IndyFab wrote:
That time of the year in the bird world, well captured.
Speaking of that time of the year, millions of birds will be on the move this weekend!
Did you know, most birds migrate at night between the hours of 11pm - 6am? Step outside after dusk, and you might hear them overhead!📢
Birds like warblers, thrushes, and tanagers migrate at night to:
✅ Avoid predators like hawks
✅ Take advantage of calmer, cooler air
✅ Use celestial cues to navigate flyways
You can help birds migrate safely by:
🌃Turning off unnecessary outdoor lights
🪟Making glass windows visible to prevent collisions
🏠Closing blinds at night to reduce light spill
🌿Creating safe stopover habitat in your yard
🔗 Check your local forecast and live radar maps at birdcast.info!
📷 BirdCast map courtesy of Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Colorado State University
I knew that birds migrate at night. There are plenty of theories of why. Living in New York City, turning off my lights would have no effect. Not only that, telling my nabors to turn off the "security" lights will not go over well.
