Spring shorebirds of California,
All dressed up with somewhere to go!
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A male and female Red-necked Phalarope in
gorgeous breeding plumage fed voraciously for
several days in a freshly restored tidal marsh on
property managed by the Port of San Francisco
before continuing their northward migration.
The Port has worked closely with staff and
volunteers of the Golden Gate Audubon Society
to restore suitable areas of important marshland
habitat.
By winter at this ten acre site where primary
restoration occurred late in 2005, the number of
shorebirds, waders and waterfowl increased
dramatically. As a testament that restoration and
reclamation efforts by these groups works, this
spring at least three species are now nesting here.
In January, the Spotted Sandpiper is still quite
un-spotted.
The San Francisco Bay region is a vital
staging area and critical stopover point in
these amazing creatures quest for survival
and procreation. As it is with the
polyandrous Spotted Sandpiper who can
be found in summer in California nesting
along mountain streams, most shorebirds
wait until they reach their breeding habitat
to work out mate selection. The focus in
springtime locally is taking advantage of
the abundant food source, completion of
molt and rest.
And rest is very much
required. Of all the North
American birds, shorebirds as
a group undertake the most
dramatic of all migrations with
some exceeding a round trip
of over 15,000 miles.
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By mid-April virtually all of the shorebirds
present are well on their way or fully
developed into their more colorful
alternate (or breeding) plumage. Along
with spring flowers and butterflies, the
shorebirds transformation into these fresh
and often brilliant feathers is yet another
reason to celebrate the beautiful and
refreshing qualities of spring.
Some species, such as the
Short-billed Dowitcher are
much more intricately patterned
and colorful in the our spring
time compared to their rather
drab winter appearance.
This makes them just
slightly easier to tell
apart from there very
similar first cousins, the
Long-billed Dowitcher.
(not shown)
Others, like this Semipalmated
Plover, hardly look much
different at all. Hormones
change the colors and brighten
the bill and a black mask
develops on the forehead.
Hey, who said Willets are plain drab?
Spring is a great time to get out for some fresh air and to enjoy something wild on an upcoming Nature Trip.
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Ah, sweet spring! When Californians and our
visitors can witness some of the amazing
ecological adaptations of birds in the order
Charadriiformes, or shorebirds. Beginning in
late March, lingering into May these avian
delights ranging in size from the diminutive
Least Sandpiper (6 ") to the relatively huge
Long-billed Curlew (23"), prepare for the
arduous tasks of migration, mate selection,
nesting and, with suitable habitat and a little
luck, successfully rearing a family.
Some species, such as a number of Western
Sandpipers, have been present here since last
fall, feeding in the bay mud flats and marshes
during ebbing tides, then retreating to high tide
roosts. Others, like the Red-necked Phalarope,
are merely passing through after spending our
winter months in Central America, pausing long
enough to gain sustenance so that they may
continue their journey to breeding grounds in
Alaska and the northern Canadian Provinces.
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