This small doll's hand was set into a rotting pier. It was busier than I've ever seen the old dump, but then it is the middle of August. There were four other beachcombers; a duo in kayaks on the low tide bar; a Russian in one of those classic East European male bikinis, who said "too noisy at Brighton Beach, quiet here"; speaking of bikinis, a bombshell was tanning with her... well, he looked old enough to be her father, but surely not.
I walked right up to this common loon, Gavia immer, so I think it's lame.
Note that off-kilter leg: this species wasn't made to walk much on land, but it did move up the beach away from the rising tide. Earlier I had seen it and an immature in the water, then on the beach in front of me. The immature was now offshore, presumably keeping an eye on me. Also saw two American oystercatchers and a chick, which was exciting because this species is threatened. Also black skimmers, ruddy turnstone, willet, semipalmated plover, spotted sanpiper, and in-land, waxwings.
4 comments:
Please forgive my ignorance, but where exactly is Dead Horse Bay?
Blather From Brooklyn
Annulla: It's down at the end of Flatbush Avenue...just before the Gil Hodges Bridge. Park in the Floyd Bennett Field parking lot, or get off the Q35 bus at the Field entrance. Head west along the trail, taking the rightward path when the trail breaks into three.
More information about it here.
Cleary, you are bachelor #1 when it comes to shore bird identification skills. I wonder how you came by them.
Amarilla: True, shore birds can be a challenge, especially without a scope. But a good field guide, trips to Jamaica Bay, and a tour with the Littoral Society, Audubon, or the Brooklyn Bird Club, go a long way to identifying the waders and the peeps. Frankly, once you've seen a black skimmer or oyster catcher in Brooklyn, you get kind of hooked.
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