This blog is dedicated to the environmental well-being of our Florida coastal habitat.

This blog is
dedicated to the environmental well-being of coastal habitat.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Shorebirds on our Beaches

This is a great time to visit our Florida west coast beaches.
Not only are the temperatures ideal, but the shorebirds are all
dressed up in their Sunday best. Their hormones have kicked in
and they are in breeding plumage. While some are foraging for
food along the shore, fattening up for their northern migration,
others are exhibiting courtship rituals and mating behaviors and
are nesting on our local beaches. It can be downright amusing to
watch them.

Images by Lou Newman, Sarasota, Florida, May/June, 2009.


Sandwich Terns



Royal Terns


Least Terns


Dunlin

Long-billed Curlew

Black-bellied Plover