Wednesday’s trip to the coast was highlighted by the arrival of Godwits at the beach, the first time I’ve seen them at Bottle Beach and the first time I’ve ever observed them feeding. Usually I’ve photographed them standing on the docks in Tokeland, waiting for the tide to go out so they can fly off and resume feeding.
They arrived in a large flock that quickly dispersed into much smaller flocks
that moved up and down the beach.
At times they worked as groups,
catching everything to be had.
However, as another birder noted, the flock was extremely noisy, almost raucous. Some seemed downright pushy, trying to intimidate nearby godwits,
while totally ignoring other, smaller birds foraging nearby.
It wasn’t at all unusual, though, to see a solitary godwit quietly probing,
far from the maddening flock, seemingly caught up in self-reflection.
Such long beaks!