It was a beautiful day at Ocean Shores, but as often the case when there are blue skies there were very strong winds, as shown by the surf breaking over the jetty.
Although I gone to the ocean to see the loons we hadn’t seen on our Port Townsend trip, we got a pleasant surprise when we encountered Surfbirds (turns out they were probably Black Turnstones, a similar bird), a bird that I spent five years searching for before ever finding one. Not coincidentally, it was exactly at this spot that I first spotted one.
On this trip it was quite clear where they got their name from.
I suspect that the high surf might have driven them in closer to shore than usual. We sighted a small flock of them on the rocks near the shore.
They would start of the rock and eat their way down to the beach, feeding on crustaceans
When the waves came crashing in they would instantly fly back to the top of the rocks to start feeding all over again, once again working their way back to the bottom of the rocks.
I can just imagine it now. Cool to see a bird doing what it’s namesake implies
So “surf birds” being as descriptive as it is, that is also their “official” bird name, like bluejays, sparrows, etc.?
Sounds like they have very hearty appetites, and no shortage of local restaurants, as it were, to satiate themselves…
Wonderful photos as always, but might those surf birds be black turnstones?
They certainly could be. They are very similar in different plumages. I guess it comes down to the length of the beak apparently. Merlin identifies it as a Blackturnstone.